![]() Grosjean was banned for one round after causing a spectacular first-turn accident at the Belgian Grand Prix. Then things went south because I tried to win so much instead of sometimes accepting that fourth, fifth, second, third was good enough. “It was almost too fast,” says Grosjean of his results. LIGHTS TO FLAG: Jaime Alguersuari on his teenage F1 debut, life as a Red Bull junior and swapping motorsport for music Grosjean was in contention for victory in Valencia but the alternator failed. Then we go to Canada, we finished second, then Valencia.” “We go to Spain, I have the fastest lap and P4, then we go to Monaco, I was very fast, but met Michael at the start. “People forgot by then I'm a rookie,” he says. Lotus delivered a quick car in 2012 and Grosjean was rapid from the outset, qualifying third in Australia, before scoring a maiden podium in Bahrain. And the same day I got the phone call – actually at the airport in the south of Spain – from Eric saying, okay, you got the seat.” I had a test with them in Spain, and the test went amazingly well, and he wanted to hire me. On December 8, Grosjean’s phone was buzzing. “I went back on the radar at that point,” Grosjean says. He then returned to Renault as a test driver. Grosjean was hired by GT1 World Championship team Matech, then mid-2010 returned to GP2 with DAMS, before being re-hired by Genii Capital, through its Gravity Sport Management scheme. LIGHTS TO FLAG: Rubens Barrichello on Schumacher, Ferrari, the Brawn adventure – and his racing exploits after F1 I tried, but there was no real room and there was no real opportunity.” “I took my backpack from my apartment in Geneva, jumped on the train, went to Paris where my girlfriend, now wife, lived, and never went back to the apartment! I went to do an open house for a cooking school. “It was January 31, 2010,” Grosjean says in a flash. It looked like Grosjean’s F1 career was over before it had even really got going – and he pondered a big career change away from racing altogether. Renault sold a majority stake in the team to Genii Capital and Grosjean was replaced by Vitaly Petrov. Sadly I was part of the furniture that the new owner kind of removed when they bought the house!” Exile, podiums and prangs “And the deal was like seven races to prepare 2010. “I made a couple of mistakes, but I don't think I did too badly,” Grosjean reflects now, some 14 years on. Grosjean had Fernando Alonso as his teammate, the R29 was towards the rear of the mid-pack, and off-track Renault were facing a crisis over the Crashgate scandal. And I'm thrown straight into a city racetrack to start Formula 1!” We had no simulator, I had never sat in the car, I didn't even do an aero test on that car. “Then the next day I got a call, ‘we're giving Nelson the last chance.’ So you're like, ‘yeah, I'm going to get in, ah, I'm not going to get in.’ Then I got the call that I'm going to be in the car in Valencia. “I got a phone call post German GP: ‘you’re in the car for Budapest,’ which was the week after,” he says. ![]() Renault junior Grosjean won the 2007 Formula 3 title, the 2008 GP2 Asia title, and was a front-runner in the main GP2 Series in 2009 when the Renault F1 team rang. “When I started winning in GP2, I was thinking there’s a chance I can make it.” “I was just doing it for fun – I had no idea if I would make it,” says Grosjean. Christian Horner and his men will be looking for more but will face stiff resistance from Ferrari and Mercedes.PODCAST: Romain Grosjean on criticism, psychology and his racing future The team won both the drivers' and constructors' titles. The team of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez has the tough task of performing better in 2023 than it did in 2022. That possible partnership could also influence the livery of the car, although Red Bull are currently still working with Honda. Because of the presentation in the United States, the link with Ford is then quickly established. Indeed, the German branch of Sky Sports managed to report that the CEO of the new engine partner for 2026 will be present at the launch. There is also another big rumour hanging over this launch. Adrian Newey and his team will not want to make the competition any wiser than necessary so early on. The team says they will also present the new car, but as will be the case for the other teams, chances are that this will only be a livery. There, a so-called 'Season Launch' will be held by Red Bull, where they will present the new car. The reigning world champions are raising the bar, as an event has been organised in New York. On Friday 3 February, it will then be Red Bull Racing's turn. Red Bull Racing car launch - 3 February 2023
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