Romain Grosjean says he is confident he will remain in Formula 1 next year despite despite moves in the driver market putting his seat under pressure.
Haas already has Kevin Magnussen under contract for next year. Team principal Guenther Steiner has admitted Nico Hulkenberg, who will leave Renault at the end of the year, could join the team, which would leave Grosjean out of a drive.However Grosjean said he’s “happy” with his performance so far. “Obviously there’s one guy that’s not going to be on the grid next year. Who is it going to be? I don’t know.”
Grosjean said he was more concerned about his position at the team 12 months ago when he was involved in a series of incidents during the opening races.
“Honestly last year I was in a very different position and I could understand that I was going to [be] put aside.
“This year, yes the season is not great, the results are not what they are. But I am happy with what I’ve been doing, I am happy with what I’ve achieved.
“I’ve had a terrible year. Six DNFs and none of them are my fault. Reliability hasn’t been on my side, the car performance hasn’t been on my side either. Whenever we were going to have good races we didn’t get it to the finish line. It’s not a good season in that aspect.
“But again I think I’m happy with my performance I’m very happy with my feedback.” Grosjean has previously said his doubts over the upgrade the team introduced in Spain were vindicated when he had the chance to run the old car in Austria.
He believes Haas hasn’t made a decision yet on who will partner Magnussen next year. “I’m quite confident I’ll be on the grid next year,” he added.
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MacLeod (@macleod)
29th August 2019, 16:29
Sounds like he is gone end of the year….
Mike
29th August 2019, 16:30
*seasons Romain, seasons, all of them…
theRealMax (@millionus)
29th August 2019, 20:43
I wanted him to do well when he first entered F1 and thought he’d be good. But I’ve never seen anything consistently good and he’s starting to annoy me now. Please just leave quietly through the back door….
DAllein (@)
29th August 2019, 16:34
His only hope is for Gasly to perform as a new Champion…
Otherwise, Hulk will end up in Haas.
Todfod (@todfod)
30th August 2019, 7:17
@dallein
Hulkenberg is a far superior driver to both Magnussen and Grosjean, so it goes without saying that Haas already have their eye on him. Additionally, I just don’t see the Hulk going back to Force India, or making the step down to Williams. McLaren seem pretty happy with Sainz and Norris, and Toro Rosso doesn’t field anyone outside of their talent pool. Haas is the only realistic place for Hulkenberg, and I feel it’s a perfectly aligned move for both of them. Alfa is another option for the Hulk, but I don’t see them fielding the Hulk up until Kimi retires or Giovinazzi fails miserably in the second half of this season.
I really hope Grosjean steps up his game in the second half of the season. Grosjean has shown from 2012 to 2016 that he’s a really formidable competitor on his day. His problem has always been a weak mind and inconsistency. Magnussen on the other hand is more consistent, but he just doesn’t have to the ability to pull out something magnificent. On pure talent and speed, I would rate Grosjean higher than Magnussen.
If Grosjean has a 2nd half of the season like he did last year, then he should be fine. Or else, he’s gone.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
29th August 2019, 17:00
Putting on a brave face Romain?
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
29th August 2019, 17:07
Please god no. I’ve been waiting for this ever since his comeback.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
29th August 2019, 17:53
@peartree Since 2012?!
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
31st August 2019, 13:15
@jeffreyj yup, back then I watched gt1 and he drove a ford gt, he was quick, then he did what any DAMS driver does in gp2. to me it looked like a quick guy but soon I understood why he didn’t last a full season back in 09
Joao (@johnmilk)
29th August 2019, 17:09
Magnussen has been confirmed to be there though?
Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
29th August 2019, 17:38
Not confirmed per se but he has a contract, and Guenther has said they had shortlisted Grosjean, Ocon, and Hulk, so it looks like Kevin is staying put.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
29th August 2019, 19:05
According to the current Racefans “2020 Drivers and Teams” page, Magnussen has a contract with Haas. Also Ocon now has a contract with Renault, meaning Hulkenberg won’t be driving there next season. I’m not sure how Renault will disguise their new Mercedes engines. Anyway, jokes aside, that means Steiner has to choose between Hulkenberg (currently 14th on the WDC table) and Grosjean (currently 17th).
TFLB (@tflb)
29th August 2019, 17:23
TBH if I were Haas I’d get rid of both drivers and replace them with Hulkenberg and Sirotkin – two drivers with lots of talent and points to prove. Plus they both come across as ultra-professional, which is more than can be said for the current drivers.
digitalrurouni
29th August 2019, 17:24
I agree! Can’t be any worse than the current lineup!
AMG44 (@amg44)
29th August 2019, 17:55
Hulk should replace one of the Hass drivers.
svianna (@svianna)
29th August 2019, 18:11
Say no more. Adieu.
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
29th August 2019, 19:20
To be honest, how long will Haas be in F1 at this point?
Kerry Maxwell (@kerrymaxwell)
30th August 2019, 13:56
I found their partnering with a scam energy drink con artist a foreboding sign at the beginning of the season, and things haven’t exactly improved since.
RB13
29th August 2019, 20:04
Hulkenberg may have the option of Haas but when the question was put to him directly at Spa today he didn’t seem massively enthusiastic about it.
His past with Sauber / Alfa and relationship with Fred Vasseur is probably more tempting coupled with the fact that Haas’s performance is so sporadic. It’s likely to be more of the same next year with Ferrari barely understanding this year’s Ferrari so what chance do these guys have? (2020 Haas will basically be this years Ferrari)
Or Williams may even be a shout, he scored a pole for them remember.
Either way, I do hope Moanjean is out of the sport and off to the FE seat he’s destined for.
svianna (@svianna)
29th August 2019, 20:39
One of HAAS’s continual problems is the fact that Grosjean and Magnussen keep crashing onto each other. With the bad blood between Hulkenberg and Magnussen, it would be highly unlikely things would improve on that aspect.
Let me refresh your memory:
https://youtu.be/SoLrLqqAGbI
https://youtu.be/sTRsltNUxHM
https://youtu.be/3wlhqBkTWwo
He makes STUPID MISTAKES all the time.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
30th August 2019, 7:35
The comment that you are replying to mentioning people giving Grosjean a hard time was looking at Grosjean’s performance this year. Two of your videos are from last year in just the first 5 races and one is this year and it is just practice…. Even Hamilton has crashed in practice.
Grosjean hasn’t been at fault for any crashes that have badly effected his result this year. The worst was possibly spain where he fell down by 3 positions. The only other that cost him positions was Britain, and most blamed magnussen for that.
You are basing it too much on practice and the start of last year. The start of last year was over a full season ago and he just hasn’t looked that bad since. He has made some very minor mistakes during races, but nothing big. Leclerc, Vettel, Bottas, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Gasly and several others have all made a more costly mistake that is fully their own fault than Grosjean.
The rest other than Gasly have had plenty of good performances, or at least decent. Grosjean hasn’t been great but nothing like as bas this year as many make it seem.
HR (@hiperr)
30th August 2019, 8:31
You think he would be genuinely keen to race for Williams? While I assume that Kubica will be bidding the paddock farewell at the end of the season, I don’t see why Nico would want to drive there unless there’s nothing else available and he really doesn’t want to race WEC. Williams don’t have any money so that couldn’t be a motivator, the car is rubbish, and if Russell is genuinely talented he would only show Hulkenberg up.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
29th August 2019, 20:24
I don’t know why people give Grosjean such a hard time. He has made one or two silly mistakes but when his car doesn’t break down, in races he is generally quicker and more consistent than Magnussen. Magnussen is nothing great either and has a consistent problem of hitting people and finishing either his or their races.
I think some people are being swayed by the fact the team is doing so badly this year but that’s not Grosjean’s fault in isolation. The car has been pretty dire compared to last year.
I would like to Grosjean stay more than Magnussen, Giovanazzi, Kubica and Stroll.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
29th August 2019, 21:14
this is what I think too. People are getting way too fixated on Grosjean’s start last year and are assuming that he has been awful this year. the only incident that either driver has had that was one or others fault for ending the race was in Britain. And the majority blamed Magnussen for this. Magnussen has only retired that one time, and has had a few decent performances, but at least does generally bring the car home. But a a huge amount of his races have been dreadful.
Grosjean has had 5 retirements which none can be considered his fault at all. In the races that they both finished, it is magnussen who should be getting criticized. He finished over 60 seconds behind Grosjean twice and also was beaten by Russell both times. Magnussen if i am correct has spent a very large amount of time driving behind the Williams. Even in france, he took ages to get by them both. When they are both racing and have both finished, Grosjean has beaten Magnussen 5 out of 6 times. 3 of which were by an absolutely massive margin. Basically dominating him while not being spectacular himself. This has not been the case the other way round in any way. This to me shows that it is Magnussen who is having the dreadful season and I personally think Grosjean has no more risk of losing his seat than his team mate, despite Magnussen having a contract and more points. The only race Magnussen beat Grosjean was in Spain. grosjean was comfortably beating him until the safety car. Grosjean messed up here admittedly, but this and britain if that can even be deemed as his fault are the only times where his mistakes have ruined his weekend. Magnussen is the one more obviously seriously under performing IMO. I simplym can’t understand why virtually everyone i have seen place their mid season driver rankings with magnussen ahead. I just don’t understand the reasoning behind it.
Grosjean is just getting to much hate and I think it is because people are remembering last year and looking at the fact he’s got 6 retirements and almost imply that they don’t believe him when he says they were not his fault. I don’t blame him for any of his retirements and in the other races he hasn’t been all that bad. Are people guessing that in those 6 races he will have crashed out anyway or something maybe?