Romain David Jeremie Grosjean is a Swiss-French professional racing driver, competing under the French flag in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport.
124 Facts About Romain Grosjean
2.
Romain Grosjean dominated the 2005 French Formula Renault championship at his first attempt and joined the Renault young driver programme.
3.
Romain Grosjean was the 2007 Formula 3 Euro Series drivers' champion.
4.
In 2012, Romain Grosjean returned to Formula One with the Lotus F1 Team, alongside Kimi Raikkonen.
5.
Romain Grosjean took his first Formula One podium at the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix and took his first fastest lap in the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix.
6.
Romain Grosjean became the first driver since 1994 to receive a race ban after causing a multi-car pile-up, at the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix.
7.
Romain Grosjean drove for Lotus again alongside Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado in the 2014 and 2015 seasons and achieved a podium finish at the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix before moving to Haas from 2016 to 2020.
8.
In what would be his final Formula One race, Romain Grosjean survived a dramatic crash during the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix when his car separated in two and caught fire after penetrating a metal guardrail on the first lap.
9.
Romain Grosjean sustained minor burns and credited the halo with saving his life.
10.
Romain Grosjean obtained his first pole position and podium in his third race, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
11.
Romain Grosjean was born to a Swiss father and a French mother.
12.
Romain Grosjean is the great-grandson of Edgar Brandt, weapon designer and founder of Brandt.
13.
Romain Grosjean is the grandson of skier Fernand Grosjean, silver medalist in giant slalom at the 1950 World Ski Championship in Aspen.
14.
Romain Grosjean won all ten rounds of the 2003 Formula Lista Junior championship and moved to the French Formula Renault championship for 2004.
15.
Romain Grosjean was seventh in that first season with one win and was champion in 2005 with ten victories.
16.
Romain Grosjean appeared in the Formula Renault Eurocup and finished on the podium twice in Valencia.
17.
Romain Grosjean made his Formula Three debut at the 2005 Macau Grand Prix, standing in for Loic Duval at Signature-Plus.
18.
Romain Grosjean did a full season in the 2006 Formula 3 Euro Series but had a tough year, taking only one podium finish and ending the year 13th.
19.
Romain Grosjean stayed in the Formula 3 Euro Series for 2007 but moved to the ASM team, for which Jamie Green, Lewis Hamilton, and Paul di Resta won the previous three titles.
20.
Sebastien Buemi led the championship in the early stages but Romain Grosjean moved ahead with a victory in the ninth race of the season at Mugello.
21.
Romain Grosjean maintained a lead in the standings from that point onwards and won the title at the final round of the year with one race in hand.
22.
Romain Grosjean took pole position for the prestigious Masters of Formula 3 race at Zolder but finished 14th after stalling at the start.
23.
Romain Grosjean drove for ART in the inaugural GP2 Asia Series season alongside Stephen Jelley, winning both races of the first round of the championship.
24.
Romain Grosjean went on to win the championship with four race victories and sixty-one points overall.
25.
Romain Grosjean stayed with ART Grand Prix team for the 2008 GP2 Series.
26.
Romain Grosjean rose through the field to finish fifth in the feature race, giving him fourth on the grid for the shorter sprint race.
27.
Romain Grosjean moved across on Kobayashi to keep the position but the stewards decided his defensive move was illegal and gave him a drive-through penalty dropping him to 13th at the end of the race.
28.
Romain Grosjean was confirmed as Renault's test driver for 2008, replacing Nelson Piquet Jr.
29.
Romain Grosjean drove a Formula One car for the first time at the UK round of the 2008 World Series by Renault weekend at Silverstone on 7 and 8 June 2008, where he gave a number of demonstrations of the previous year's R27 car.
30.
Romain Grosjean initially continued in the test driver role at Renault for 2009 but took over Piquet's seat in the wake of the Crashgate controversy from the European Grand Prix onwards.
31.
Romain Grosjean was knocked out of Q2 0.323 seconds off the pace of teammate Fernando Alonso.
32.
Romain Grosjean finished 15th in the race after a first-lap collision with Luca Badoer necessitated a stop for a new front wing.
33.
Romain Grosjean described himself as "very disappointed" after the race.
34.
Romain Grosjean was hopeful of making progress in the race, but the brake problems reappeared, forcing him to retire after just three laps.
35.
Romain Grosjean was promoted to 17th due to Timo Glock being unable to start the race.
36.
Romain Grosjean was unable to make progress in the race, finishing 16th after struggling with understeer throughout the race on the unfamiliar circuit.
37.
At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean suffered an accident in practice, although he escaped unhurt.
38.
Romain Grosjean said afterward that he had "learnt an enormous amount this year, especially being a teammate to Fernando".
39.
Romain Grosjean replaced Nick Heidfeld, who left his testing duties to take up a race seat at Sauber.
40.
In March 2010, Romain Grosjean secured a drive in the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship, driving a Ford GT1 for the Matech Competition team alongside German driver Thomas Mutsch.
41.
In June 2010, Romain Grosjean made his debut in the famous Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race, sharing a Ford GT1 with Mutsch and Jonathan Hirschi.
42.
In June 2010, Romain Grosjean made a return to single-seaters, racing for the DAMS team in the third round of the Auto GP season at Spa-Francorchamps.
43.
Romain Grosjean went on to win three more races to take the title at Monza 16 points ahead of runner-up Edoardo Piscopo.
44.
On 20 July 2010, Romain Grosjean announced that he would return to GP2 with the DAMS team.
45.
Romain Grosjean replaced the then Renault test driver Jerome d'Ambrosio for the German round of the championship.
46.
Romain Grosjean later substituted for D'Ambrosio's injured teammate, Ho-Pin Tung, from the Belgian round onwards, finishing 3rd in Belgium and Abu Dhabi to take fourteenth place in the drivers' standings, only two positions behind D'Ambrosio.
47.
Romain Grosjean returned to GP2 full-time with DAMS for the 2011 GP2 Series and GP2 Asia Series seasons.
48.
Romain Grosjean took two pole positions and one race victory to win the Asia Series by six points from Jules Bianchi, and won the first race of the main series to lead that championship as well.
49.
Romain Grosjean lost the championship lead to Giedo van der Garde, after the second round of the series, after an event which was hampered by disqualification due to a technical infringement, but regained it again the following week at Monaco, scoring points in both races despite starting from last place on the grid.
50.
At the start of 2011, Romain Grosjean returned to the newly branded Lotus Renault GP team as one of five test drivers along with Bruno Senna, Ho-Pin Tung, Jan Charouz and Fairuz Fauzy.
51.
In late October 2011, Lotus Renault announced that Romain Grosjean would drive in the first Friday free practice session in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the Brazilian Grand Prix.
52.
On 9 December 2011, it was announced that Romain Grosjean would make his comeback to Formula One in 2012, taking the second seat at the newly renamed Lotus F1 Team alongside 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen.
53.
Romain Grosjean fell to sixth at the start and retired on the second lap after a collision with Pastor Maldonado, which broke his right-front suspension.
54.
In Spain Romain Grosjean started third, finished fourth and set his first fastest lap in Formula One; the first for a French driver since Alesi at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix.
55.
At Valencia, Romain Grosjean was running second when the car's electronics malfunctioned forcing Romain Grosjean's first mechanical-related retirement of the season.
56.
At the British Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean topped the timesheets during the first free practice session, but qualifying did not go as well; at the end of Q2 he spun into the gravel at the final corner after managing to get into Q3, this meant he could not take any further part in qualifying and started from tenth, although he was promoted to ninth after Nico Hulkenberg received a grid penalty.
57.
However, Romain Grosjean fought back through the field to finish in sixth just behind his teammate.
58.
At the German Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean started nineteenth due to a gearbox penalty and finished eighteenth after picking up a puncture on lap one.
59.
Romain Grosjean's actions were condemned by many drivers in the paddock.
60.
At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean was involved in another first lap incident.
61.
In Sao Paulo Romain Grosjean hit the back of Pedro de la Rosa's HRT in qualifying.
62.
The day before Romain Grosjean finished in second place in the Nations' Cup event along with his teammate Sebastien Ogier in the French team, after defeat by Germany's Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher.
63.
On 17 December 2012, it was confirmed that Romain Grosjean would stay at Lotus for the 2013 season.
64.
Romain Grosjean had three points-scoring finishes at the three opening races before receiving a new chassis to help his chances at Bahrain; he qualified 11th and climbed to third.
65.
At the Monaco Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean had three crashes during the practice sessions, leading his team principal, Boullier, to tell Romain Grosjean to "wake up".
66.
Romain Grosjean retired on the last lap while in 8th position due to serious front wing damage.
67.
Romain Grosjean was forced to let his teammate Kimi Raikkonen pass towards the end of the race as Raikkonen had faster tyres.
68.
Romain Grosjean resisted Fernando Alonso to earn his second podium of the season behind Vettel and Raikkonen.
69.
Romain Grosjean finished the race in 8th position after being overtaken by Massa towards the end of the race.
70.
In Singapore Romain Grosjean had a difficult weekend full of mechanical problems; and despite qualifying 3rd, he was forced to retire due to an engine issue.
71.
Romain Grosjean made a good start in which he overtook Hamilton and was closing on Vettel until the safety car came out.
72.
Romain Grosjean maintained position behind Raikkonen and secured his third podium of the season, in third.
73.
In India, Romain Grosjean failed to reach Q2 on medium tyres to save softer tyres, and he ultimately qualified 17th.
74.
At the United States Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean had a good qualifying session and earned the 3rd spot on the grid behind Vettel and Webber.
75.
On 29 November 2013, it was confirmed that Romain Grosjean would continue with Lotus in 2014.
76.
Romain Grosjean showed great potential in testing, but mechanical problems in Australia and a spin after contact with Sergio Perez in Malaysia prevented Romain Grosjean from scoring points.
77.
In Spain, Lotus struggled in practice and qualifying and Romain Grosjean missed out on Q3 for the first time in the season.
78.
In Monaco, Romain Grosjean was on for his fourth consecutive points finish, despite a grid penalty for a gearbox change, but he was hit by Max Verstappen while battling for position.
79.
Romain Grosjean managed to rejoin, but lost time and finished 12th.
80.
Romain Grosjean had to pit for new tyres, but managed to recover and finished in the points.
81.
Ahead of him was Vettel, who was on very old tyres, and Romain Grosjean caught up with him with 5 laps to go.
82.
Romain Grosjean was not able to overtake, but Vettel's right rear tyre exploded on the penultimate lap.
83.
Romain Grosjean moved into the podium positions, to record his first such result since 2013.
84.
In Japan, Romain Grosjean was in 6th place after the start but lost a position during the first stops to Nico Hulkenberg.
85.
Romain Grosjean was partnered by former Sauber driver and Ferrari test driver Esteban Gutierrez.
86.
Romain Grosjean was eventually voted Formula One's first Driver of the Day.
87.
Romain Grosjean scored again in the following Bahrain Grand Prix by finishing in fifth position, winning Driver of the Day again.
88.
Romain Grosjean drove for Haas for the 2017 season where he partnered Kevin Magnussen.
89.
Romain Grosjean had multiple retirements, such as in the 2017 Australian Grand Prix, where he retired due to a water leak.
90.
Romain Grosjean scored 28 points in total from 8 occasions and finished the season 13th.
91.
Romain Grosjean was then hit by Hulkenberg and Gasly, eliminating all three from the race.
92.
Romain Grosjean was disqualified from the Italian Grand Prix after the floor of his car was found to be illegal, taking away a 6th-place finish; although the team appealed this, the decision was upheld.
93.
Romain Grosjean scored his first point of the season by finishing 10th in Spain, and followed this up with another 10th-place finish in Monaco.
94.
Romain Grosjean finished 14th in Canada after a collision in front of him on the first lap sent debris into his car, causing him to lose positions.
95.
Romain Grosjean then retired from the next race, his home race in France.
96.
In Singapore, Romain Grosjean tagged George Russell during an overtake attempt, damaging his front wing and causing the Williams driver to crash into a wall.
97.
In Brazil, Romain Grosjean was running in 7th place late in the race behind Pierre Gasly and ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr.
98.
Romain Grosjean ended the season in 18th place in the championship with 8 points, his worst full-season in Formula One.
99.
On 19 September 2019, Haas announced that Romain Grosjean would remain with the team for the 2020 season alongside Magnussen.
100.
At the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean suffered a serious crash on the first lap in which his Haas VF-20 hit a barrier at high speed, splitting the car in half, releasing the fuel and causing a significant fire.
101.
Romain Grosjean was able to exit the car unaided after 28 seconds, and was helped away from the crash scene by Alan van der Merwe and Ian Roberts, with minor burn injuries to his hands and ankles before being airlifted to a nearby military hospital.
102.
Romain Grosjean ultimately missed the last 2 races of the season, and was replaced by Pietro Fittipaldi.
103.
Romain Grosjean was due to test drive the Mercedes AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+, which won the 2019 Formula One World Championship, for a full day of testing with the team at the 2021 French Grand Prix.
104.
From 2021 onward Romain Grosjean chose to compete in the IndyCar Series.
105.
For 2021 Romain Grosjean competed on a joint deal between Dale Coyne Racing and Rick Ware Racing with backing from Honda.
106.
Romain Grosjean was scheduled to only participate in the street and road course events in the 2021 season but he later announced after the Indianapolis 500 that he would run the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 to get experience racing on ovals for a potential full schedule in 2022.
107.
Romain Grosjean quickly adapted to IndyCar racing and immediately showed pace.
108.
Romain Grosjean recorded three podium finishes on the season; two second-place finishes at both rounds on the IMS Road Course and a third-place finish Laguna Seca.
109.
The highpoint of Romain Grosjean's season was at the first round at Indianapolis, where after sitting out for two weeks he returned and out qualified fellow rookie Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Jack Harvey, Conor Daly, and Alex Palou to earn his first IndyCar pole position and first pole position since May 2011, when he was on pole in GP2 at Istanbul Park with DAMS.
110.
Romain Grosjean went on to finish in second place behind winner Rinus VeeKay.
111.
Romain Grosjean recorded top ten finishes at Barber, Road America, and Mid-Ohio.
112.
Many pundits picked Romain Grosjean to have the strongest season of the three due to his extensive open-wheel experience, picking him to be a potential candidate for IndyCar Rookie of the Year despite competing for a team with significantly fewer resources than McLaughlin's Team Penske or Johnson's Chip Ganassi Racing and not racing a full schedule.
113.
Romain Grosjean's performances were so strong that despite his partial schedule he was nearly able to outscore McLaughlin for the Rookie of the Year award heading into the final race at Long Beach.
114.
Romain Grosjean drove Andretti Autosport's No 28 DHL Honda entry in the 2022 season, replacing the outgoing Ryan Hunter-Reay.
115.
Romain Grosjean underwent his rookie orientation at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 5,2021, and confirmed that he will be racing in the 2022 Indianapolis 500 along with the entire 2022 schedule.
116.
Romain Grosjean picked up his first podium with Andretti Autosport at Long Beach, nearly taking the win from Josef Newgarden before an accident caused by Takuma Sato caused the race to finish under caution.
117.
Romain Grosjean managed to advance to Q2 in his first Indianapolis 500 but ultimately crashed out of the race.
118.
In 2023 Romain Grosjean won the pole at the season opener but a late race collision with Scott McLaughlin ended his chances of a victory.
119.
Romain Grosjean again crashed out at Texas when fighting for a podium finish before picking up two consecutive second place finishes at Long Beach and Barber.
120.
Romain Grosjean married French journalist and television presenter Marion Jolles on 27 June 2012 in Chamonix.
121.
Romain Grosjean holds endorsements with various brands including Christian Roth, Richard Mille, Bell Sports, Seier Capital, and Field Pass.
122.
In 2014 Romain Grosjean was featured in French disc jockey David Guetta's music video titled "Dangerous".
123.
In October 2017 Romain Grosjean launched Cuisine et Confidences, a cookbook he authored with his wife.
124.
Romain Grosjean has his own YouTube Channel called Romain Grosjean Official with 255K subscribers which he launched in November 2017.