Romain Grosjean says his brief experience of F1 in 2009 will stand him in good stead on his return this year.
Speaking as the Lotus E20 was launched Grosjean said: “It?óÔé¼Ôäós difficult to say how I should view this season.
“For sure I did seven Grands Prix alongside Fernando [Alonso] and the experience I gained from that was helpful – and is still helpful today.
“On the other hand there are still some circuits that I don?óÔé¼Ôäót know. But I don?óÔé¼Ôäót think we can say I?óÔé¼Ôäóm a rookie, just because of the experience I have. Let?óÔé¼Ôäós say that I am a young driver who still has plenty of things to learn in Formula One, but we are all expecting a good season.”
Groejean added: “I don?óÔé¼Ôäót know Albert Park, I don?óÔé¼Ôäót know Shanghai, I don?óÔé¼Ôäót know Canada, America nobody knows, India I don?óÔé¼Ôäót know and Korea I don?óÔé¼Ôäót know. So in the early stages of the season I know all the tracks except Albert Park and Shanghai. I know Sepang and Bahrain. We will see what happens.
Grosjean described how he got himself in a position to get back into F1:
“The process for getting the 2012 drive really began with GP2, where my goal was to bring DAMS back to the top and show that I can be a team leader. For sure winning the title was something that we all wanted, but championships can depend on many things.
“Then there were the two Friday morning sessions in Formula One, which were a real test in terms of seeing if I had the speed, feedback and everything the team was looking for. I knew it was very important and it went well, but then you just have to wait.
“That was the most difficult part, but I knew I?óÔé¼Ôäód done everything – the best I could do – so I had no regrets. I was waiting and just trying to read the faces of the people in the team to imagine what the decision would be! That?óÔé¼Ôäós always part of this job. You get used to it year after year.”
He added: “Compared with 2009 I am two years older! No big difference, just an improvement in terms of many small things, including maturity.
“The 2009 experience was very helpful for me to understand things and grow up from that point. So it was difficult, but very good as well. The 2012 Romain Grosjean sees life a little bit different. My aim is to enjoy my number one passion, Formula One.”
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Image ?é?® Renault/LAT
RIISE (@riise)
5th February 2012, 18:31
I don’t think Romain will take the grid by storm this year but I expect him to impress. Sure he got blitzed by Alonso in 2009 but I still think he did quite well considering. At least this time he has the whole of the pre-season to get used to the team and build from the first race instead of being thrown into it half way through.
He’s definitely a talent, much more potential than Petrov in my opinion and is a real star of the future. He is still only 25, if Lotus can give him the time (Which I’m sure Eric will). He will be a quality driver for them in the long term.
Steph (@)
5th February 2012, 19:29
Glad to see you’re commenting a bit more and I agree. On paper he did awfully in 09 but the R29 was a dog, he was up against Alonso and came into Renault in awful circumstances. With experience, a better situation surrounding the team and a team mate who has been out of the sport for a while he should find it better this time around and I think he could do well.
BasCB (@bascb)
5th February 2012, 20:17
Yeah, that car and that team was really not the right place and certainly not the right time to be.
But being solidly beaten by Alonso is not something a rookie should be ashamed of, just look at how Fisi or Massa do (did) against Alonso. If Romain can perform like Fisi or even get within a nip of the Championship like Massa achieved, I would say he can be quite satisfied.
And being out in the wild must have made him a stronger personality. He fully realised there are guys that are faster than him out there, and has had to improve and learn how to work with the team to beat them non the less.
M.M.C (@mmc)
5th February 2012, 18:31
I’m guessing that he’ll be matching Kimi for the first few races. I think the Kimi/Grosjean pairing is almost as exciting as the di Resta/Hulkenburg one; I expect it to be really close.
HK (@me4me)
5th February 2012, 19:18
Somehow over the last couple of months my expectations of him have declined. That’s obviously not based on facts, because he hasn’t been racing. But his personallity isn’t that interesting in my opinion. Oh well, let’s see what he can do once the season gets going.
Rocky (@rocky)
5th February 2012, 19:59
News Flash Grosjean beats Raikkonen again Raikkoned seen knocking kids over in the paddock.
Eggry (@eggry)
6th February 2012, 2:56
He would do well as di Resta did last year. Experienced, matured, and has speed. If Kimi wouldn’t come back to his form quickly, he will push Kimi.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
7th February 2012, 9:18
I’m sure he will do fine. He is ready for Formula 1 so there is very little doubt in my mind that he won’t deliver on the teams expectations.