Ex-Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean revealed he is ‘ready’ for his Mercedes test run and the Frenchman has even had a special helmet made for the event. Grosjean has previously spoken of a ‘fun’ phone call he shared with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff which suggested he would get to try driving one of the famous Silver Arrows at a testing session.
Grosjean’s F1 career came to a terrifying end after he suffered horrific burns to his hands when his car burst into a fireball when he crashed through the safety barrier at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. He required surgery to treat his injuries and, with just two races left in the season, Grosjean was replaced by Pietro Fittipaldi to focus on recovery.
The Frenchman was subsequently left without a seat after he was released by Haas. However, Wolff reached out to Grosjean and offered him the chance to drive a Mercedes F1 car at a private test.
Grosjean has continued racing in IndyCar, but he is clearly keen to return to an F1 cockpit. His custom helmet proves he is ready, and the 35-year-old hopes the test could run this year. In a Youtube video taking a close look at his motorsport gear, Grosjean showed off his new helmet: “I know everyone is asking about the Mercedes test, well there is the helmet. The test hasn’t happened yet, but we’ve got a helmet ready for it.”
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Grosjean, who secured 10 podiums across his 10 years in F1, was due to drive the Mercedes AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+ at the 2021 French Grand Prix, his home race. The test was originally delayed due to the pandemic, but Grosjean is now preoccupied with his IndyCar commitments.
He competes for Andretti Autosport after a successful return to racing in 2021 saw him secure a pole position and three podiums while driving for Dale Coyne Racing.
As for Wolff and Mercedes, the 22-race F1 2022 campaign – which is expected to return to 23 races in the near future once a Russian Grand Prix replacement is found – continues with the Australian Grand Prix on April 10.
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