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Phoenix Romain Grosjean Rues American Gaze on His F1 Career: “Bit More Than That”

Published 02/04/2023, 8:15 AM EST

Romain Grosjean walked out of the fire after surviving one of the gravest accidents in F1 history. The Bahrain Grand Prix, 2020, saw the car torn, half caught fire, and it rose in flames. The French driver was trapped in the broken car for almost half a minute before the world saw him walk out of it. But according to the ex-Haas driver, the incident which made him so famous took away from the real deal.

Netflix heavily cashed in on the incident. They dedicated an entire episode of their limited docuseries, Drive to Survive, to the fiery accident. Grosjean, who now races in the American single-seater series, had already become a famous name even before he arrived on the scene. Absolutely enjoying the fame in the United States, which even the likes of Schumacher didn’t have, the Phoenix has a bone to pick with his post-DTS revolution fans.

In an interview with GQ, Grosjean woefully said, “The way I’m known, especially in the U.S., it’s through that accident because a lot of the U.S. audience is very new to Formula 1 and came through Drive to Survive. The way I see my career is a bit more than that.”

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He went on to highlight his long F1 career, “It’s 180 Grands Prix, 10 podiums, the best finishing position Haas has ever had in Austria. The crash is definitely part of my career. But it’s just not that. It’s a bit more than that. And I see it as just part of my journey, like any podium.”

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But can the Indycar racer make an increment to 180 GP start tally?

Grosjean’s return to F1; learned never to say never

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The fire-filled accident made the Phoenix announce his retirement from the apex of motor sporting. But one can never really take racing out of a race car driver who has felt the adrenaline from the high speed. The Frenchman returned to single-seater racing with Indycar. He races with Andretti Autosports for the American series. With his current employers making a bid to enter Formula 1, will he be open to making a return?

In the GQ interview, he said, “One thing I learned last year is to never say never. You never know what the future is like. Formula 1 stays the pinnacle of motorsport. If it was a team to win, yes. Right now I would say I prefer to stay in IndyCar, but again, you never know.”

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Watch This Story: American Drivers to Win an F1 race

Post-retirement returns in F1 are not uncommon. Maybe the man who rose from the flames might change his mind to make a comeback.

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Written by:

Anmol is an F1 writer at Essentially Sports. She is a Law graduate from National Law University, Lucknow, and currently pursuing PGD in Journalism and Mass Communication from Symbiosis. Being a Rallyist herself she began watching F1, the apex of motorsports, and eventually fell in love with the sport.

Edited by:

Varunkumaar Chelladurai

Phoenix Romain Grosjean Rues American Gaze on His F1 Career: “Bit More Than That”

Grosjean’s return to F1; learned never to say never

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