Romain Grosjean’s ten-season F1 career ended one race early with a fiery crash during the opening lap of the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. He has finally been given a final outing in F1 machinery. Haas invited Grosjean back to step into the seat of its 2023 car on Friday for a private test at Mugello in Italy. The French driver nearly burned alive in the 2020 wreck, but freed himself from the Haas F1 car wedged between an Armco barrier. Grosjean returned to racing after the crash, competing in IndyCar and IMSA.
The Mugello test was a sort of class reunion for Grosjean as many of his former Haas colleagues still work for the American team, albeit in different positions. Ayao Komatsu, Haas’ current team principal, was Grosean’s race engineer at Lotus and switched teams with him in 2016 to become chief race engineer at Haas. Dominic Haines, Grosjean’s last race engineer, is currently the chief engineer of Haas’ heritage program. In a team statement, Grosjean said:
“I’m incredibly grateful to Gene Haas and to Ayao Komatsu for inviting me to participate in the TPC at Mugello. To say I’m excited to get back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car would naturally be an understatement. I really can’t believe it’s been almost five years, but to come back and have this outing with my old team is truly something special.”
Grosjean’s post-crash career has been shaky
The test also allowed Grosjean to finally wear the helmet he planned for the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, his slated final F1 race. The experience for the licensed pilot was likely a welcome diversion from the turbulent state of his career at the moment. The Frenchman had impressed during his 2021 rookie season in IndyCar with three podium finishes at Dale Coyne Racing. However, his move to Andretti proved fruitless as he failed to win any races over a two-year stint and publicly tussled with his teammates. Things didn’t get any better when he moved to Juncos, pairing up with Argentine stock car ace Augustin Canapino.
Alongside his IndyCar duties, Grosjean became a factory driver in Lamborghini’s sports car racing program. The LMDh program struggled since its debut in 2024. The Italian automaker announced in August that it was pulling the plug on the SC63. While it’s officially a hiatus, I don’t expect to see Lamborghini returning to the top class of endurance racing anytime soon.
