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Romain Grosjean will be back in the cockpit of a Haas when he takes part in a TPC at Mugello on Friday.
The 39-year-old spent five seasons competing for Haas from 2016 to 2020 – his time in Formula 1 ending abruptly following a horrific opening lap accident at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2020.
He survived both the barrier impact – measured at 67G – as well as the fire that followed, extracting himself from the wreckage with his injuries limited to burns to the back of his hands, testimony to the tireless safety measures that continue to be implemented in the sport.
Back in Haas colours on Friday, Grosjean will strap into the cockpit of the VF-23 at Mugello – a track where he holds a 12th place finish from Formula 1’s sole visit to the picturesque and sweeping 15-turn circuit – the Tuscan Grand Prix, held in 2020 during the sport’s reduced COVID-impacted season.
Overseeing Friday’s track activities will be members of Grosjean’s original crew, many of whom now work on the TPC and heritage programs being run by the American squad. Team Principal, Ayao Komatsu – who was Grosjean’s race engineer when they previously worked together at Lotus F1 Team scoring 10 podiums – will serve as race engineer once again at Mugello, Komatsu having followed the Frenchman to Haas as Chief Race Engineer back in 2016.
Dominic Haines will also be on-site to oversee proceedings, the Englishman was formerly Grosjean’s race engineer from 2019-2020 and he currently serves as Heritage Chief Engineer. Grosjean’s long-serving No.1 Race Mechanic, Ian Staniforth, will also be present in his current capacity as Race Team Support Chief Mechanic, with several additional team members on the operational and garage side also in attendance having worked with Grosjean throughout his 98 race starts with Haas.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be welcoming Romain Grosjean back into a Formula 1 car for the first time in five years but especially proud he’s returning in one of our cars… it’s only fitting,” said Komatsu. “Romain and I have worked together throughout his entire Formula 1 career so this test at Mugello is of particular significance to us both.
“I’m delighted he embraced the opportunity to come and get back behind the wheel with us, a day that’s going to be made extra special by having so many members of the original crew back together to witness it. It should be a fun day and knowing Romain as I do, I know he’ll want to give it his all as usual, I’d expect nothing less, not least as we’ve talked about making this happen for a long time now.”
“I’m incredibly grateful to Gene Haas and to Ayao Komatsu for inviting me to participate in the TPC,” added Grosjean. “To say I’m excited to get back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car would naturally be an understatement.
“I really can’t believe it’s been almost five years, but to come back and have this outing with my old team is truly something special. I’m excited to see everyone, I’m sure we’ll spend a bit of time reminiscing about the old days, but I’m also keen to be of use regarding the trackside agenda with the VF-23… it’s great the team now has the TPC program as part of its on-going development.
“Finally, my kids had designed my helmet for what was meant to be my final grand prix in Abu Dhabi back in 2020, I’m at last going to be able to give it a go in a Formula 1 car on Friday.”
Friday’s test will also see ex-IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe making his debut in a Formula 1 car, the Canadian F1TV broadcaster, a six-time IndyCar race winner and former Indy 500 pole sitter, getting a test of the VF-23 as part of a feature for Formula 1’s official TV channel set to air during the United States Grand Prix weekend next month.
Now, what about that outing in the championship winning Mercedes that Toto Wolff promised Grosjean.
