A horrific collision during the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2020 ended Romain Grosjean’s Formula One career.
Following the abrupt end to Grosjean’s F1 career after Haas failed to renew his contract, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff contacted the Frenchman following his crash in 2020 and offered him a private test with the team.
However, now Grosjean has disclosed that his private test with Mercedes is “still on the cards” as Toto Wolff did not reveal the date for the test.
After 179 race starts in Formula One with Renault, Lotus, and Haas, the Frenchman was slated to retire from the Haas team at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix a year ago, with 10 podiums and 291 points.
Grosjean’s career was cut short in a horrible accident at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, in which he collided with Daniil Kvyat and slewed across the track straight through the barrier, splitting his car in half and trapping him in a fire.
Thankfully, and almost amazingly, he was able to clamber out of his Haas car despite serious burns to his hands and broken ribs – an incredibly lucky escape.
As a result, Pietro Fittipaldi replaced him for the final two races of the season, and Wolff later gave him a chance to drive a Mercedes to give him another chance to drive an F1 car.
The 35-year-old unveiled an unique helmet he had created for his outing in a YouTube video, and he remains hopeful that he will be able to drive the Mercedes.
“I know everyone is asking about the Mercedes test, well there is the helmet,” he said.
“The test hasn’t happened yet, but we’ve got a helmet ready for it.”
“I sent a message to Toto after Abu Dhabi,” Grosjean revealed.
“I let a few weeks go by and then I sent a message to Toto and he did reply and it started ‘thank you’ and then the last sentence was ‘we need to get you in that car this year’. So yes, it’s still on the cards.”
Last season, Grosjean left Formula One to join the Dale Coyne team in IndyCar, where he won pole at the Indianapolis Grand Prix for the first time in ten years and claimed three podium finishes en way to a 15th-placed championship finish.
He’s joined Andretti for the 2022 season, and he confesses that his schedule in the United States makes it difficult for him to drive the Mercedes.
“There were a few things last year that didn’t make it easy,” Grosjean said. “This year, I cannot go at the French Grand Prix because we’re racing in Iowa the same weekend.”
“But definitively, yes, Mercedes is keen to do it, I am keen to do it, even though my neck would be dying because I’ve lost part of the muscle there.”
“We still want to do it and if it happens, great, but the main focus is now trying to win races with Andretti.”
Kevin Magnussen, Grosjean’s old Haas teammate, re-joined the team this year to replace the dismissed Nikita Mazepin due to Russia’s war on Ukraine, and the Frenchman earlier stated that he would have turned down the chance to return to Formula 1.
