Romain Grosjean Believes He “Paid a Heavy Price” at the Start of His F1 Career

Romain Grosjean will complete his tenth year with Formula 1 this season. However, the journey has not been an easy one for the Frenchman, as he had to go through a lot of hardships to stick around in the sport.

Recently, Grosjean revealed that he entered the industry in 2009 without much preparations, which eventually made him pay the “heavy price.”

According to Racefans, Grosjean spoke about his rookie year in Formula 1. “The only thing I can say is that I was convinced I was ready when I came in. And I wasn’t,” he said. “And obviously, I paid a huge price at the beginning after 2009.”

“Obviously, in my days, we were probably a little bit less prepared than the drivers are nowadays,” he said.

Grosjean eventually got up to speed when he moved to Lotus, where he scored most of his podiums. His switch to Haas turned out to be a term of ups and downs.

During the early stages, the team looked strong and were growing even stronger. Strangely, it was a downfall from there on for Haas. They never managed to back up again and provide the Frenchman with a competitive car.

Romain Grosjean feels he has evolved over the years

Although it is a tad too late, the Haas driver opened up that he has changed a lot and is starting to understand the car much better than he did in the past.

“I’m very much different [now],” he said. “I know exactly where we need to bring the car before the weekend. I know how to drive it, how to get the best out of it when it’s not going the way you want it.

“That’s really making a lot of difference.”

No matter how well he manages to perform through the next four races, Grosjean will still be left without a drive for the next season. What’s more, his seat could most likely go into the hands of a rookie driver.

However, Grosjean never looked distraught with his current stage as he focused more on the positives of his successor potentially being a rookie.

“But also rookies need to have their chance in Formula 1,” he said. “I’ve been here for 10 years, blocking kind of a seat for 10 years, and if the team goes for two rookies well, good for them, and I wish them the best.”

Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin are the lead contenders for taking over Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen’s seats. But with Haas considering an all-rookie line-up for 2021, will the team be able to bring out the best in the two new drivers? Or will they go down into a pitfall yet again?