10 facts about Romain Grosjean

He has long been singled out as the favourite to be given his chance by Renault, even though his season in GP2 has witnessed the highs of two victories and the lows of some pretty spectacular accidents.

Renault is convinced that Grosjean has what it takes to be a success, however, and that is why it has chosen him to become F1's third rookie in 2009.

Here are 10 facts about Grosjean.

• Romain Grosjean was born in Geneva, Switzerland on April 17, 1986 - to a Swiss father and French mother.

• Although Grosjean has dual Swiss-French nationality, he competes under a French racing licence.

• Grosjean's racing career started at the quite late age of 14, when be took up karting. His first single-seater experience was in Formula Renault 1600 in 2003 - when he became Swiss champion with 10 wins from 10 races.

• The Frenchman's subsequent racing titles include the 2005 French Formula Renault, the 2007 F3 Euro Series and the 2008 GP2 Asia Series crowns.

• Grosjean has been part of the Renault family since 2006 when he was signed up for the French car manufacturer's driver development programme.

• On the back of his promising results in junior categories, Grosjean was made a Renault test driver in 2008 - as replacement for Nelson Piquet who had secured a race seat.

• Grosjean's first proper Formula 1 test was at Barcelona on June 12, 2008, when he completed 60 laps in a Renault R28.

• The decision to move Grosjean up to F1 comes after mixed fortunes in GP2 this year. He has won two races, but also walked away from a sizeable accident at the Monaco Grand Prix - where he tore a 30cm hole in the side of the tub.

• His promotion to a race seat with Renault means that the GP2 Series will keep its tally of having seven drivers in the F1 field as former competitors.

• Grosjean lists 'Snow' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers as his favourite song, Prison Break as his favourite television show and, if he could be a super hero, he would like to be Superman.