Romain Grosjean · Biography

Romain Grosjean made his Formula 1 debut on 23 August 2009 at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, driving for Renault in place of Nelson Piquet Jr. He started 14th and finished 15th. Born in Geneva on 17 April 1986 and holding both French and Swiss nationality, he contested seven grands prix that year before losing his seat. He returned to the championship with Lotus in 2012, moved to Haas in 2016 and, after 179 Formula 1 starts, continued his career in American IndyCar racing from 2021.

Early career: from Formula Lista to Formula 3

Grosjean first made his name in 2003, winning all ten races of the Formula Lista Junior series in Switzerland. He then stepped up to French Formula Renault, finishing seventh in 2004 with one win and taking the title in 2005 with ten victories. After a first season in the Formula 3 Euro Series, which he ended in 13th place, he won that championship in 2007 with the ASM team. In 2008 he reached GP2 with ART Grand Prix, winning the GP2 Asia title and finishing fourth in the main series, results that earned him a place within Renault’s Formula 1 organisation.

A brief first spell and a return to the feeder series

His 2009 debut led nowhere immediately: for 2010 Renault gave its second car to Vitali Petrov and Grosjean was left without a race seat. He spread his programme across several series that year. He won the Auto GP title with DAMS, collecting four victories, won a round of the FIA GT1 World Championship in Matech’s Ford GT and raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGT1 class, where he retired. In 2011 he went back to GP2 full-time with DAMS and completed a double: GP2 Asia champion and GP2 champion, the result that brought him back to Formula 1.

Lotus: podiums and the Spa ban

Lotus brought out his best form. In 2012 he finished on the podium in Bahrain (third), Canada (second) and Hungary (third), but the year was also marked by the multi-car crash he triggered at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix, which earned him a one-race ban and a €50,000 fine. He ended the season eighth with 96 points. His most complete campaign came in 2013: six podiums, with third places in Bahrain, Germany, Korea, Japan and India and second in the United States, and seventh in the standings. The 2014 rule change left Lotus off the pace and Grosjean scored just 8 points, with eighth places in Barcelona and Monaco as his best finishes. In 2015 he took his last Formula 1 podium with third in Belgium and finished 11th on 51 points.

Haas and the Bahrain crash

In 2016 he became the lead driver of the new Haas team and scored points in its first race, finishing sixth in Australia. He was 13th that year with 29 points; in 2017 he scored 28, and in 2018 he achieved his best result with the team, fourth at the Austrian Grand Prix, on his way to 14th with 37 points. The next two seasons were harder: 8 points in 2019 and one in 2020. On 29 November 2020, on the opening lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix, he clipped Daniil Kvyat’s AlphaTauri and hit the barriers at around 137 mph. The car split in two and caught fire; Grosjean climbed out with burns to his hands and credited the halo with saving his life. He missed the final two races of the year, which closed his Formula 1 career at 181 entries, 179 starts, 10 podiums and 391 points.

IndyCar

In 2021 he moved to IndyCar with Dale Coyne Racing, in partnership with Rick Ware Racing. In his third race, on the Indianapolis road course, he claimed pole position and second place; he was second again at the second event on that circuit and third at Laguna Seca. He finished 15th and won the series’ Most Popular Driver award. In 2022 he joined Andretti Autosport, took second at Long Beach and ended the year 13th. In 2023, again with Andretti, he took poles at St. Petersburg and Barber, finished second at Long Beach and Barber and was 13th once more. In 2024 he drove for Juncos Hollinger Racing, with fourth at Laguna Seca as his best result and 17th overall.

Endurance racing and a return to Dale Coyne

Alongside his single-seater career, Grosjean raced in endurance events with Lamborghini: he made his IMSA debut in 2023 in the GTD Pro class and returned to Le Mans in 2024, finishing 13th in the Hypercar category. In January 2025 he was named Prema’s IndyCar reserve driver, and that year he contested five IMSA races in the GTP class with Lamborghini. On 26 September 2025 he drove a Formula 1 car again, a Haas VF-23, in a test at Mugello. On 13 February 2026 Dale Coyne Racing confirmed his return to the team in the No. 18 car. That season he finished ninth in the Indianapolis 500 from 24th on the grid, second at Markham and 19th in the 2026 championship with 259 points.