Romain Grosjean

Infobox racing driver
name = Romain Grosjean


pixels =
caption =
nationality = flagicon|France French
date of birth = Birth date and age|1986|4|17
place of birth = Geneva (Switzerland)
current series = GP2 Series
first year = 2008
current team = ART Grand Prix
car number = 4
former teams =
starts = 20
wins = 2
poles = 1
fastest laps = 2
best finish = 4th
year = 2008
prev series = Formula Renault Eurocup
French Formula Renault
Swiss Formula Renault Formula Three Euroseries
GP2 Asia Series
prev series years = 2005
2004
2003
2006-07
2008
titles = GP2 Asia Series
Formula Three Euroseries
French Formula Renault
Renault Speed Trophy F2000
title years = 2008
2007
2005
2003
awards =
award years =

Romain Grosjean (b. April 17, 1986) is a racing driver from Geneva, Switzerland, who competes under a French racing licence. cite web | title = Meet the rookies: Romain Grosjean | publisher = F1Fanatic.co.uk | date = 2007 | url = http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2007/08/14/meet-the-rookies-romain-grosjean/ | accessdate =2007-08-14] He was recently crowned the 2007 Formula Three Euroseries drivers' champion and the inaugural GP2 Asia Series champion.

Early racing career

Grosjean won all ten rounds of the 2003 Swiss Formula Renault championship and moved to the French Formula Renault championship for 2004.

He was seventh in that first season with one win and champion in 2005 with ten victories. Grosjean also appeared in the Formula Renault Eurocup and finished on the podium twice in Valencia.

Formula Three

Grosjean made his F3 debut at the demanding Macau Guia circuit, standing in for Loic Duval at Signature-Plus. He qualified 19th and raced to ninth, beating team mates Fabio Carbone and Guillaume Moreau.

He did a full season in the F3 Euroseries in 2006 but had a tough year, taking only one podium finish and ending the year 13th. But in a one-off appearance in the British Formula Three Championship he started on pole position for both races at Pau, won both and set fastest lap in each.

He stayed in the F3 Euroseries for 2007 but stepped up to ASM Formule 3, for which Jamie Green, Lewis Hamilton, and Paul di Resta won the previous three titles. Sebastien Buemi led the championship in the early stages but Grosjean moved ahead with a victory in the ninth race of the season at Mugello. cite web | title = F3 Euro Mugello 1: Grosjean moves ahead | publisher = MaximumMotorsport.co.uk | date = 2007 | url = http://www.maximummotorsport.co.uk/2007/07/14/f3-euro-mugello-1-grosjean-moves-ahead/ | accessdate =2007-08-14] He 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. [Bradley, Charles. [http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/63278 Grosjean takes title] "autosport.com", 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-10-13.]

Grosjean took pole position for the prestigious Masters of F3 race at Zolder but finished 14th after stalling at the start. cite web | title = Hülkenberg wins F3 Masters as Grosjean stalls | publisher = MaximumMotorsport.co.uk | date = 2007 | url = http://www.maximummotorsport.co.uk/2007/08/05/hulkenberg-wins-masters-as-grosjean-stalls/ | accessdate =2007-08-14]

GP2 Series

Grosjean drove for ART in the inaugural GP2 Asia Series season alongside Stephen Jelley, winning both races of the first round of the championship. He went on to win the championship with four race victories and sixty points overall.

He stayed with ART Grand Prix team for the 2008 GP2 Series season. [cite news| title =Grosjean to race for ART in 2008 | publisher =autosport.com| url =http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64346| date =2007-12-11| accessdate =2007-12-11] His team-mate is Luca Filippi. [cite news| title =Filippi confirmed at ART for 2008| publisher =autosport.com| url =http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64420| date =2007-12-17| accessdate =2007-12-17]

In the first round at the Circuit de Catalunya Grosjean started 11th after engine problems in qualifying. He rose through the field to finish fifth in the feature race, giving him fourth on the grid for the shorter sprint race. [cite news| title =Alvaro Parente wins on GP2 debut in Barcelona| publisher =maximummotorsport.co.uk| url =http://www.maximummotorsport.co.uk/2008/04/26/alvaro-parente-wins-on-gp2-debut-in-barcelona/| date =2008-04-26| accessdate =2008-04-27] After a good start Grosjean was up to second and then passed Kobayashi for the lead. But Grosjean made a mistake on a late rolling restart and Kobayashi tried to pass him again for the lead. 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. [cite news| title =Kobayashi triumphs as Grosjean cracks under pressure| publisher =maximummotorsport.co.uk| url =http://www.maximummotorsport.co.uk/2008/04/27/kobayashi-triumphs-as-grosjean-cracks-under-pressure/| date =2008-04-27| accessdate =2008-04-27] Victory in the sprint race at Istanbul, the fourth round of the season, moved Grosjean into second place in the championship. [cite news| title =Eight cars crash on first lap, Bruno Senna hits a dog, it's another GP2 sprint race| publisher =maximummotorsport.co.uk| url =http://www.maximummotorsport.co.uk/2008/05/11/eight-cars-crash-on-first-lap-bruno-senna-hits-a-dog-its-another-gp2-sprint-race/| date =2008-05-11| accessdate =2008-05-12] Despite dropping back from this position, he finished the season fourth and achieved the distinction of being the highest-placed rookie in the championship.

Formula One

Grosjean was confirmed as Renault's test driver for F1|2008, replacing Nelson Piquet Jr. who graduated to a race seat. [cite news| title =Alonso, Piquet, Grosjean with Renault...| publisher =uk.eurosport.yahoo.com| url =http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/10122007/13/alonso-piquet-grosjean-renault.html| date =2007-12-10| accessdate =2007-12-10] He drove an F1 car for the first time at the UK round of the 2008 World Series by Renault weekend at Silverstone on June 7 and June 8, 2008, where he gave a number of demonstrations of the previous year's R27 car.

Racing record

Complete GP2 Series results

References