Romain Grosjean says he was never concerned about his future in Formula 1 despite being involved in a series of incidents earlier this year.
The Haas driver’s contract was extended for the 2019 F1 season despite crashes in back-to-back races in Azerbaijan and Spain. He also tangled with team mate Kevin Magnussen on the first lap of the British Grand Prix, but Grosjean said he knew he could turn his season around.
“I don’t want this to sound wrong but I was never worried that I wouldn’t be here next year, because at one point after Silverstone I knew it couldn’t keep going that way,” he said.“I knew I had the solution somewhere and I knew I could bounce back, and if I was bouncing back I would stay. I thought Germany was the point and it was good. Then I knew the team would see it and we would both work it through.”
However Grosjean admitted he had to put a stop to the problems which blighted the start of his season. “If I had kept going as [it was] early on it wouldn’t have worked. But from the point I knew exactly what I needed to do and how things were going to be then I was convinced things would go in a positive way.”
Grosjean said the collision with Magnussen was a turning point for his season. He compared the spur-of-the-moment error to his collision with Mark Webber in the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix, when the Red Bull driver branded him a “first-lap nutcase”.
“It was trying to understand why we touched,” Grosjean said of the clash with Magnussen. “It was not intentional, from both sides. And understanding why I took the wrong decision with the braking point and so on, not thinking at the time that you’ve made a wrong decision.
“It’s like the start at Japan in 2012 if you want a correlation. Thinking ‘you’re OK, you’re OK’, and then you’re not OK. And why something that sounds like the right thing to do is the wrong thing to do.
“There’s two-tenths of a second to take the decision and decide things. You need to be on the right side of that two tenths of a second. After Silverstone I knew I was on the wrong side and then I needed to know why I was on the wrong side and then work on that.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2018 F1 season
- McLaren staff told us we were “totally crazy” to take Honda engines in 2018 – Tost
- ‘It doesn’t matter if we start last’: How Red Bull’s junior team aided Honda’s leap forward
- Honda’s jet division helped F1 engineers solve power unit problem
- McLaren Racing losses rise after Honda split
- Ricciardo: Baku “s***show” was Red Bull’s fault
Todfod (@todfod)
13th October 2018, 9:44
His “I’m not worried about my drive” statements are very Massa-esque. If I was Grosjean, I would be worried. He’s taken a few step backwards this season, and given the quality of F1 drivers / F1 potentials on the sidelines, I would say he’s got maybe a couple of more seasons left in this sport to start putting in better and more consistent performances.
BasCB (@bascb)
14th October 2018, 13:48
That is the thing though @todfod, he doesn’t say that he was not worried about his drive. Read it again carefully – he just mentiones that he stopped worrying about it, i.e. stopped letting it be in his mind constantly, so that he could just focus on te driving.
Moi
13th October 2018, 9:50
Kind of a nonsensical question/answer. What would you expect a driver (any driver) to say in this case?
Phylyp (@phylyp)
13th October 2018, 10:02
He may not be worried about his drive, but Leclerc’s promotion to Ferrari probably underscores one thing – this is the end of the road as far as Grosjean is concerned, in terms of getting a drive at a top team.
Sumedh
13th October 2018, 13:34
I guess that is fine. Never thought he is in the mould of Hamilton, Alonso or Vettel (not sure if I can include Vettel in this group anymore).
But if Leclerc wipes the floor with Vettel, an opening at Ferrari for a dutiful no. 2 may open up. Grosjean may still have a chance then.
erikje
13th October 2018, 20:22
Why would Ferrari choose RG?
There are a lot of better drivers around.
BasCB (@bascb)
14th October 2018, 13:50
As I mentioned in my comment above, I don’t think he ever did not worry about his drive, he just stopped thinking about that to avoid it blocking him from getting on with the driving @phylyp.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
13th October 2018, 11:04
Grosjean may have made much more serious mistakes than Magnussen, but I still think he’s overall the quicker driver. He’s IMO had as many great performances as Magnussen now. Can’t say he’s had a better season because of the level of mistakes he has made though. But since his turn around, he’s easily good enough to deserve to stay in F1. I would have rated him last at the mid season, but in the majority of the races since, he’s been excellent. And not every race in the first half was actually bad. Despite nor qualifying as well or having as good a start, in Australia, he looked as quick as Magnussen, possibly a bit faster. For a team like Hass that is steadily improving, I think he’s an ideal driver for them given he’s been with them since they entered F1.
xman
13th October 2018, 11:13
LOL, nice joke :)
Fudge Kobayashi (@)
13th October 2018, 13:07
The wrong Frenchman on the grid next year, and i’m not referring to Gasly.
Martijn (@)
13th October 2018, 14:57
+1
Gabriel (@rethla)
13th October 2018, 23:51
French Canadian*
David BR (@david-br)
13th October 2018, 13:37
Grosjean improved but some of his early season mistakes were gross and you just know they haven’t gone away. He still has the same insane and highly dangerous moments of driving he had earlier in his F1 career. His Spanish ‘doughnut’, wheel-spinning back on track into the middle of the racing pack this year, should have been given a race ban. It’s a sign of the weird leniency for bad and dangerous driving (combined with harsh penalties for risk-free rule infringements) that are making F1 stewarding increasingly difficult to understand. Magnussen is another.
Xcm
13th October 2018, 17:19
Was/Is Grosjean’s donut back onto track really that bad?
In japan, vettel can be seen driving straight at oncoming traffic after he spun, and I didn’t hear as much as a peep about that.
Both selfish decisions to get them back into the race ASAP that could’ve easily caused more collisions.
Yet formula 1 has too many rules….
Phylyp (@phylyp)
13th October 2018, 18:01
Really? He let the whole field pass, and rejoined in 19th (IIRC). In fact, he was pootling around in the runoff area while the rest of the grid was zipping past. Although yes, you could claim that is equivalent to “driving straight at traffic”
David BR (@david-br)
13th October 2018, 18:25
His decision to wheel spin and turn at 90 degrees to hold traction on the edge of the track, rather than just go off into the gravel, meant that he ended up crossing the path of seven oncoming cars (and more behind I couldn’t count) while generating a big plume of smoke and reducing their visibility, taking out Hulkenberg and Gasly in the process, probably very likely not more. Vettel by contrast waited for everyone to pass at Suzuka. As he did at Singapore 2017 and Monza this year. You really think they are in the least comparable? They’re completely opposite reactions to spinning off! Vettel: accepts he’s lost, positions the car as safely as possible while preparing to rejoin (or park). Grosjean: hurtle across the track at right angles as though playing skittles, destroying his own race and that of two other drivers. And that’s the lucky outcome.
Tango (@tango)
13th October 2018, 19:28
I think he knows it was bad. If you listen to the beyond the grid podcast, he says he even got some sassy comment from his older kid. (Getting kicked while you’re down)
David BR (@david-br)
13th October 2018, 19:53
@tango Fair enough and it’s clear he made a big effort to improve afterwards, which should be recognized (hope I did). It just seems to be an instinctive part of his racing to have these occasional ‘mad’ moments. I didn’t mean to pick on him unduly, the original comment was about a wider issue with penalties.
erikje
13th October 2018, 20:24
But looking at his trackrecord he will do it again!
Tango (@tango)
14th October 2018, 0:21
I kinda agree with you @david-br. On both counts.
Grosjean is fast. Real fast. And he seems like a good guy always trying to be brtter. But it’s so difficult to be a fan of because of his offs.
Fudge Kobayashi (@)
13th October 2018, 21:43
Xcm what planet are you on to compare those two incidents? Wow.
Martijn (@)
13th October 2018, 15:30
Maybe he didn’t, but we all did
Dave
13th October 2018, 16:11
I always thought he would leave F1 after all the first 8 rounds with no points this year.