The missing factor that Grosjean developed too late to transform his F1 career

Those who worked with him will insist that Romain Grosjean had the speed to win races in F1. “On his day, he was as fast as anyone out there – nobody could drive better than him,” says his former engineer Ayao Komatsu, who worked with Grosjean throughout his entire F1 career and helped him achieve his 10 podiums. “But it’s just that not every day was his day.”

Many people probably won’t remember his career for those podiums – they were all achieved, as he puts it, in the
“pre-Drive to Survive era”. For many ‘new’ F1 fans, he’s the
guy who became a figure of fun after his opening-lap spin
in Spain in 2018, or, most likely, the one who had that
crash in Bahrain in 2020.

So the idea of talking to GP Racing about the other,
pre-Netflix, part of his F1 journey is something he’s enthusiastic about as we sit down at the back of the Haas hospitality – with the blessing of Romain’s former boss Guenther Steiner – in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix paddock, where he’s working as a sort of colleague of ours in a role
as a commentator for French broadcaster Canal+.

GP Racing: Romain, there’s a video on YouTube which has about 2,500 views where you tell a story about meeting
Flavio Briatore in a wet racesuit. Maybe it’s time to share
it with a wider audience...

Romain Grosjean: Ha ha! Are we sure about that? It was a bit embarrassing... It was Silverstone, 2008, GP2 race two, a very wet race. And it was one of the five times, I think, in my whole career where I had no choice but to release the pressure from my bladder during the race. And then I was called into Flavio’s office right after it finished... Luckily it rained a lot that day.
So I don’t think he noticed!

GPR: How was it for you to work with Flavio?

RG: It was always good. He was very nice to me. I didn’t get the chance to do much with him in F1. I knew him mostly from my junior career and he’s a character for sure. But when I came to F1 in 2009, it was three races – and that was it.

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

Grosjean's F1 career only briefly overlapped with that of colourful Renault boss Briatore

GPR: This was the fall-out from ‘Crashgate’ [Briatore received a ‘lifetime’ ban from motor racing when his role in fixing the 2008 Singapore GP result was revealed]. What do you remember from that time?

RG: I don’t think I realised the impact it would have on my career. Maybe at that time it would have been better for me to be more open and understand more about what was going on, instead of just trying to go racing and be as fast as I could. It was all a bit chaotic. I remember a conversation at the end of 2009 where I was told I would be in the car in 2010. And, well, that never happened. There were a lot of moving parts at the time. They lost the leadership, some new people came in but they didn’t know what to do and they were
selling the team at the same time. It was a bit of unfortunate timing. But then, of course,
I came back to race in GT and later got the chance to meet Jean-Paul Driot from DAMS, got back into single-seaters with them and had another go. He paid for my GP2 season and then I signed with Gravity, which was the management company of Gerard Lopez and Eric Boullier. They ran the Renault/Lotus team, whatever it was called at the time.
And that’s how I came back to F1.

"Maybe I needed a little bit of support to realise how big a deal it was to be on the podium in race four. I needed someone to explain to me that I should be happy and build my confidence instead of thinking, “Oh,
I could have done better" Romain Grosjean

It’s often said speed isn’t the most important (and certainly not the only) thing you need to succeed in F1. Grosjean is an example of that. In effectively his rookie year in F1 in 2012, he finished on the podium three times. But it was also a year in which his image was irreparably damaged.

Grosjean had a number of opening-lap incidents but, even if the majority of them were either trivial or no-fault on his part, the image of a “first-lap nutcase” (in the words of Mark Webber) stuck. Two accidents inked this impression: the unforgettable one at Spa, where a few centimetres of misjudgement led to a massive crash involving two championship contenders and a one-race ban; and a clash at Suzuka with Webber, who coined the aforementioned sobriquet.

GPR: Was 2012 the best season you ever raced in?

RG: Ha! I think 2013 was even better. But yes, in 2012 we had seven winners in the first seven races.

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

Grosjean took his first podium just four races into his comeback in 2012

GPR: And you almost won the eighth one.

RG: For me, it was all almost too fast. Race four in Bahrain – I’m on the podium. Race five [Spain] – I get the fastest lap. Race six, Monaco, I qualify fourth. Race seven, Canada, I finish second. Race eight [Europe], I’m fighting for victory! And then it went a bit sideways.

GPR: What did the podium in Bahrain do for your confidence? You made up three places on the first lap and finished behind Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

RG: I was disappointed! Because I thought I should have been second. I messed up my tyre choice and then Kimi managed to beat me. So it was a bit bittersweet. And that’s where I feel like maybe I needed a little bit of support to realise how big a deal it was to be on the podium in race four. I needed someone to explain to me that I should be happy and build my confidence instead of thinking, “Oh,
I could have done better.”

GPR: Then Valencia – and that start was almost even better...

RG: I actually had a bad start, but I managed to brake really late into Turn 1 and got myself into P3. And then... I saw the video on YouTube the other day: Ayao says to me: “Now try
to stay with Hamilton” and as soon as he says it, I pass him!
I wasn’t even planning to pass him in that corner, but our
tyre deg was so good that I still had a lot of grip – I just braked at my normal point and went around him on the outside. And then the car stopped.

GPR: Did you have the speed to beat Fernando Alonso that day? Because just before Vettel retired, he passed you.

RG: Sure. We had the pace. But yes, Sebastian had a Renault engine and I had a Renault engine. His alternator failed and my alternator failed. So if it wasn’t for Sebastian’s problem, he would have won. And if I hadn’t had this problem, I would have won as well.

GPR: Do you think it would have changed things for you?

RG: You become a race winner. I think that changes a lot.

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Grosjean feels victory was on the cards at Valencia in 2012, when he retired with alternator failure

GPR: Instead it went the other way.

RG: There was a bit of bad luck. And there was also a bit of me making mistakes. But then I was murdered by the stewards after Spa. There were at least two other occasions where the same thing happened and no one got a race ban. It was just a bit too much.

GPR: If it was Artificial Intelligence doing the stewards’
job that weekend....

RG: I don’t know. I really don’t know. I accepted the penalty, but I disagree with it. Did I deserve something? Yes, for sure. But they were looking at the consequences rather than the action itself. And then you get into this spiral where, you know... It’s just hard to stop a shitstorm.

"I probably also lacked self-confidence, which made me more vulnerable to attacks. Now I don’t give a damn. And life is easier that way" Romain Grosjean

GPR: They were probably influenced by the noise about some of the other first-lap incidents that you were involved in.

RG: Yeah, but there weren’t that many...

GPR: There were a few, but you never got a penalty. Not even in Monaco, after a clash with Michael Schumacher...

RG: Monaco was nothing. Honestly, it was just Michael
trying to get somewhere where there was no space, between my car and the barrier. And that barrier isn’t straight, it
comes back. Where was I supposed to go? The only thing
I did wrong was that I didn’t open the throttle enough and didn’t blow the engine.

GPR: Do you think you should have been a bit more of a
bully back then? A bit like Max for example. He crashed into the back of your car in Monaco in 2015...

RG: And I got shit for it!

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Grosjean was given a one-race ban after his involvement in the first corner crash at Spa, which marked his card

GPR: Because he said that you brake-tested him.

RG: Which wasn’t true!

GPR: Exactly. But do you think that’s the kind of approach that can actually help?

RG: I don’t know. Maybe. But anyway, I never thought about it. Because it’s not me. So I wouldn’t do it even if I thought it was the way to go. I’m not perfect. And there are things I would have changed in the beginning, for sure. Then you get a different path and the outcome can be different too. But it is what it is. I probably also lacked self-confidence, which made me more vulnerable to attacks. Now I don’t give a damn. And life is easier that way.

GPR: Mark Webber’s “first-lap nutcase” stamp has completely overshadowed everything you’ve achieved that year...

RG: Well, in Japan I fucked up. I was so focused on not
letting Kobayashi pass me that I almost forgot about Mark in front of me. Was it worth all the bullshit I got for it? I’m not sure. But it was my mistake. And I apologised. Yeah, it was just... At that point I had no support. From anywhere.
It was really, really hard.

GPR: You say that you lacked self-confidence. How important is that in this sport?

RG: Very important. But it’s very hard, especially when you go up against the best of the best. You see a lot of tennis players who are really good, but when they play [Novak] Djokovic or [Roger] Federer or [Rafa] Nadal, they’re nowhere. It’s because they’re playing the guys who have been at the top for the last 20 years. And it’s just in their heads. There’s a lot of that in racing, for sure.

GPR: Can you work on that?

RG: Yes. It takes a lot of effort. It’s like... a lot of bricks,
like a pyramid, you have to put the first brick and then
the second row and so on. But then it’s super easy to get it destroyed. And then
you have to start all over again. I mean Checo Perez is a
good example this year. He started the year really well.
And then Miami happened. It’s funny because after Miami
I said on TV it could be the turning point for Checo. And it turned out that it was.

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Grosjean split the dominant Red Bulls in Austin, one of six podium finishes he registered in 2013

GPR: Do you think you lost some good results in 2013 because you were extra cautious?

RG: No, we had a fucking KERS mapping issue. If it hadn’t been for that, I think I would have been vice-world champion that year.

GPR: Were you at your best then?

RG: Yes, and in 2015 as well.

"We had bailiffs in the garage. They were locking up our trucks and everything... I remember one of the engineers – he cycled to the track every morning – arguing with them: 'No, the bike is mine! It doesn’t belong to the team'" Romain Grosjean

GPR: The 2014 season was hopeless with the twin-nose car, wasn’t it? The car wasn’t ready for the first test in Jerez, then you had the least number of laps in Bahrain...

RG: I’ve a funny story about that because I was reminded of
it recently. When I had my first test with Lamborghini
in endurance, someone from the team said to me: “I hope
you won’t say you have a puncture on the first lap!” And
that’s from back in 2014. When I took the car out for the first lap and I got to the fast section before the last sector – I came on the radio and said “puncture, puncture”. The car felt so bad, I thought I had a puncture. And the team came back to me and said, “Everything looks fine to us”. Pastor Maldonado was my
team-mate, so told the story to the Lamborghini guys –
and we had a laugh about it!

GPR: The podium in Spa in 2015 is considered by many
to be your best race ever. The team was almost bankrupt
at the time, right?

RG: Oh yes. We had bailiffs in the garage. They were locking up our trucks and everything... I remember one of the engineers – he cycled to the track every morning – arguing with them: “No, the bike is mine! It doesn’t belong to the team.” So he was allowed to go in and get his bike... Yeah, it was pretty special. But I knew from FP3 that we had a chance because the pace was good. But I also had a gearbox penalty. Because we didn’t have the money, we didn’t have a Friday gearbox, and I broke the race gearbox on Friday – so I qualified fourth but had to start ninth. I remember talking to a French journalist on the grid and he said, “Oh, what a shame, on a day when you’re actually fast, you get this penalty.” I replied, “Well, actually it’s better to get a penalty when we’re fast, so we can come back.” And we ended up in P3!

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Grosjean gave beleaguered Lotus team a huge lift with Spa 2015 podium

GPR: How bad was it that year?

RG: Oh yeah, it was really bad. Here in Brazil I got kicked out of my hotel room because the team hadn’t paid for it. I ended up getting it back around midnight... I was like, “Guys, my stuff is in there!” Then in Japan we had no hospitality because the team hadn’t paid for that either. Luckily Renault offered me lunch... But it was also one of the best times!

GPR: How come?

RG: Because we all stuck together, as a group. And it was... yeah, it was cool.

“Time’s up, buddy, I was told 15 minutes,” Guenther Steiner comes out of his office with a big grin on his face. “We have room for guests,” Romain smiles and his former boss lands on the seat next to him. “How’s the interview going?” he asks us, and we suggest it could always be better. “Just tell him he’s an asshole,” laughs Steiner. “At least I’m not a redneck,” Grosjean parries, and the friendly banter segues seamlessly into a conversation about his new hobby – aeroplanes.
It took Romain 21 hours to get from Miami, where he’s
now based, to Sao Paulo – with several stops along the
way – in his light plane.

When we politely point out to Steiner that he probably has a job to do elsewhere, he leaves after chivvying us to
chat about Haas.

GPR: People like Ayao, who have been with Haas from the very beginning, say that P6 in Melbourne in 2016 saved the team – because the build-up was so difficult that if it hadn’t been for that result, a lot of people would have left. Were you ever more proud of yourself, scoring in the first race for this team?

RG: Yeah, I mean, for the guys it was a lot harder than for the drivers. They did an incredible job. For sure it was a challenge. But it was worth it. And the whole beginning was pretty great. In Melbourne we were lucky, but Bahrain was more of a real performance. It was one of those races where you don’t really understand what’s happening and why, so you just take it. This team is very special to me. They’re real racers. OK, I’m biased because Ayao came with me and a lot of other people. It was all new and we had to build it together. And I still have a very good relationship with everybody here. Like, you see, with Guenther. We had our disagreements, but we also had a lot of fun. And coming back to the paddock, Haas is definitely the place I feel most at home.

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Steiner gatecrashed GPR's chat with Grosjean, which underlined the strong relationship the two still have

GPR: How are your hands?

RG: Good. I mean, some days it’s a bit painful, the left one. But I would say 95% of the time I don’t even think about it.

GPR: Are you still keen to test with Mercedes? Toto Wolff promised you one but, as we understand it, you’re making it difficult for them to organise it.

RG: Yes, absolutely. We haven’t found the time yet – and yes, it’s all my fault. It’s not easy though – I’m looking at 30 race weekends next year. You guys complain about 24 in F1 and I have 18 in IndyCar, seven in endurance and five in F1 with Canal+. So it’s not easy to add a test. But also, very selfishly, I’m trying to delay it to get to the point where I can actually test a new generation of cars. But yeah, I’m still keen to do it and whenever I see Toto he always confirms that it’s going to happen. Yes, it would be very cool to get back in an F1 car.

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Grosjean is still keen to try a Mercedes F1 car, but faces a hectic schedule with Lamborghini LMDh and IndyCar commitments