Former Haas driver Romain Grosjean looks set to sign an IndyCar contract for the upcoming season. This comes just two months after his life-changing crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Dale Coyne and Romain Grosjean are reportedly in talks about a potential deal for the 2021 campaign.
One might wonder why he even wants to go into a cockpit again. He almost cheated death after being immersed in a fireball on the opening lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Grosjean and fellow Haas driver Kevin Magnussen had already been informed prior to this accident that they would no longer be required by the team for 2021.
Formula 2 champion Mick Schumacher and Russian driver Nikita Mazepin were named the replacements. With this knowledge, coupled with their underperforming car, Grosjean and Magnussen did their best.
However, Grosjean’s death-defying experience has given him a different outlook towards life.
In an interview with Martin Brundle, Grosjean spoke about just how important it was for him to get back out on the track.
His positive attitude meant that quitting the sport just wasn’t an option. It was perhaps more for himself than anything else. Grosjean wants to prove that despite the accident, he is still good enough to compete at the elite level.
Mercedes had reportedly offered Grosjean a private test on the eve of the season finale in Abu Dhabi last year.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said, “If we are allowed to do this and nobody else in the universe of teams he has raced would provide him with such an opportunity, we would do this.”
However, Grosjean now has his sights away from the world of Formula 1. “It’s a nice championship with good drivers. Is it a championship that I’m watching closely, yes,” he was recently quoted as saying.
IndyCar adventure on the horizon
Dale Coyne has recently stated that he is keen on getting Grosjean in his team in IndyCar. Discussions are believed to be underway between the two.
Racing on ovals is a different ball game though. There is an increased risk and after his most recent experience, it is possible that Grosjean sits out the four oval events if he does join Coyne’s team.
Calling himself “selfish”, Grosjean feels he can go to almost any extent to satisfy his hunger for racing. He did, however, concede that he will keep his wife and two children at the forefront of his mind.
That day in Bahrain was a defining moment in Grosjean’s life. It may well have ended very differently had luck not have favoured him. The Frenchman’s hunger has been replenished and he is keen to prove his worth to himself more than anyone else.