Romain Grosjean Is Ready To Win His First IndyCar Race

Romain Grosjean wasn't the first Formula One driver to find a new home in the IndyCar Series, but he's certainly been one of the most immediately successful. After signing on with Dale Coyne Racing for 2021, Grosjean scored three podium positions and finished 15th in the championship, which isn't bad, considering he didn't contest any of the ovals. Now, after moving to Andretti Autosport, Grosjean is ready to win.

If you don't know Grosjean's story, you've been missing out on an iconic comeback in modern motorsport. After over a decade in F1, the world's premiere racing series, Grosjean's career ended in flames — literally. A bad crash at Bahrain two races before the 2020 season finale saw Grosjean leave the sport rather unceremoniously, nursing severely burned hands and with no indication of where he'd be going next. IndyCar had been a rumored next step for him, but it never quite seemed like a deal was coming together.

And then it did. In 2021, Grosjean announced he'd be piloting the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing car in a partnership with Rick Ware Racing for all but the oval races. After an exceptional first season that saw him regularly competing for wins, Grosjean decided he'd be taking a step up to the Andretti Autosport team to compete for a full season.

"It's been amazing," Grosjean said of his time with Andretti so far in a recent interview with Jalopnik. "It's a big team and very professional, but with a very family-based atmosphere, which is definitely something I enjoy at this point in my career."

While some folks have criticized IndyCar for being a "spec" series, Grosjean admits that that's what he's really enjoyed most about the series.

"Everyone has got the same car, so every driver has the same chance to kind of compete for the win," he told Jalopnik. "In Formula One, if you don't have the right car — and we've seen it with many drivers — there's no chance to get a win. That's definitely something that I do prefer in IndyCar compared to Formula One."

And trust us when we say Grosjean knows. His time in Formula One was characterized by so many near successes that it's hard to understand how he didn't get discouraged. In his 179 F1 starts, Grosjean never managed to secure a win but did see the podium 10 times. That was likely a tough transition for a driver who had been so dominant in his junior open-wheel racing career.

Thankfully for us, Grosjean decided to bring his talents to America, where he can take on an equally-matched field of incredible drivers and really show his talent.

In 2022, Grosjean will be replacing Ryan Hunter-Reay in the DHL-sponsored No. 28 Andretti Autosport Honda. His chances for success are damn good. And as for his goals? Well, those are simple: "Trying to win races."

This year, it's only a matter of time.