Romain Grosjean whipped out his crystal ball with some interesting observations ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season, among them questioning the signing of Nico Hulkenberg by Haas.
The 36-year-old, veteran of 179 Grand Prix starts, also predicted Lewis Hamilton will be back to his winning ways in 2023 but is adamant Max Verstappen will be the man to beat, the Red Bull driver clear favourite to claim a third title.
Grosjean, now set for his third season in Indycar, clearly keeps an eye on F1, the former Haas driver quitting after his death-defying, fiery accident during the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Surviving what was dubbed as ‘The Miracle in the Desert’ and done with ill-funded and woefully underperforming Haas team, Grosjean’s time in F1 was over.
But Indycar embraced him and they got pretty much what F1 fans were treated by the Frenchman, rare flashes of brilliance peppered by far too many incidents for one of such experience.
Nevertheless, Grosjean’s observations on the F1 scene are interesting as he is sure to have most F1 drivers on speed-dial, even friends among them while knowing well how the sport works at the highest level.
Speaking on his YouTube vlog, he gave his verdict of the new F1 season ahead:
Of his former team Haas, Grosjean said: “I wouldn’t have put Nico Hülkenberg in Mick Schumacher’s car. I think Mick has shown a good second half of 2022. But obviously, the team wanted to work with another pilot. I drove with Nico in the same team in Formula 3 and later saw him as a rival in GP2 and Formula 1, a very talented driver. But again, I wouldn’t have made that choice.”
Mercedes? “An unchanged line-up with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. I expect Mercedes to be significantly stronger in 2023, so expect a highly motivated Lewis Hamilton to return to winning ways.”
Grosjean: Max Verstappen and Red Bull are the clear favourites
Red Bull Racing? “There’s no question – if you want to be F1 world champion in 2023, you have to get past Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. For me, this duo is the clear favourite.”
Ferrari? “With the same driver drivers, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, the big change is the new team boss, i.e. Fred Vasseur replacing Mattia Binotto. Ferrari had the necessary speed in qualifying in 2022, but there was a lack of implementation in the race. Vasseur will have to improve on that. Leclerc has to work on his error rate, and Sainz has to drive more consistently at Leclerc’s level.”
Alpine? “I think the idea of a French national team with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly is cool. I wish that they work well together. This must not degenerate into an internal duel as to who is in charge here after Fernando Alonso. It’s good that both are experienced and Grand Prix winners. They used to not be best friends, but they have to put that behind them. Management has to stay wide awake here.”
McLaren? “Lando Norris has proven over the past two years how good he is. I’m very excited to see how young Oscar Piastri fares alongside him. The whole contractual mess with Alpine and McLaren was certainly not the nicest way to get a regular F1 spot, but I think McLaren is a very good environment for Piastri.”
Alfa Romeo? “Valtteri Bottas brings enormous experience, Guanyu Zhou has shown a very good first F1 season. In the second half of the 2022 season, the Chinese driver could be more of a threat to the Finn and we will see more of that in the coming season.”
Grosjean: Fernando can get angry…
Aston-Martin? “Fernando Alonso will drive this team a lot. He’s a fantastic driver who knows how to motivate his team. Signing him was a brilliant move by Aston Martin. The only danger there: If the car isn’t fast enough, Fernando can get angry. F1 drivers are not the most patient people.”
AlphaTauri? “After two years in F1 and the departure of Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda is the team leader on paper, alongside Nyck de Vries, who has only contested one Grand Prix to date. The Dutchman was karting world champion and also won the title in Formula 2 and Formula E. He came to the premier class in an unusual way but definitely deserves a regular place. Thanks to more experience, I see Tsunoda in front for now, but de Vries will catch up quickly.”
Williams? “After his performances in 2022, it was clear to me that Alex Albon would stay. Logan Sargeant has had a strong Formula 2 season and I was very happy for him to be given a chance in Formula 1. This is also fabulous news for the premier class in America. I live in America now and I see Formula 1 booming there thanks to the Netflix documentary ‘Drive to Survive’.”
Lamborghini project will keep Romain busy in 2023
As for his own immediate future, Grosjean is set for a third Indycar season; in 2023 he will be driving for Andretti Autosport who recently announced their ramped-up bid to enter F1 with General Motors’ Cadillac brand.
Grosjean will also spearhead the official Lamborghini WEC Hypercar programme, the iconic sportscar maker has joined Acura, Alpine, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche, which, in parallel with the LMH Hypercars built by Ferrari, Peugeot, Toyota and Glickenhaus, look set to relaunch endurance motorsport back into the stratosphere from 2023.
Grosjean explained: “Already in 2022 I wanted to do the three endurance races but we moved in December and it was too tricky to do it properly. Now the opportunity with Lamborghini has come.
“I’m very excited by this project, to be representing such a brand that is iconic for anyone who loves cars. Every time there’s a Lamborghini in the street people turn to watch it. It is that brand. I can’t wait to have one in my front yard,” added Grosjean.