“Happier than I’ve been for a long time” – Grosjean

With fast, smooth and undulating corners, Romain Grosjean felt at home on the Euro-style street circuit of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing rookie shot to P5 in the first practice session in the No. 51 Honda, narrowly finished seventh among the 25 entries in the second session and retained the two-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion and Team Penske leader Josef Newgarden from pole on his first run on the 2.4-mile route.

“All of the tracks I’ve ridden in the US are the best known,” said Grosjean. “I can tell you that it was actually designed for Formula 1 as are the curves, the layout and the corners. I knew I would feel good on the track pretty quickly, while St. Pete needs a little more time to study. Barber, a few tricks that you need to understand. It’s a little easier for me here. “

Grosjean’s last few years in Formula 1 weren’t particularly fulfilling. It made the success on Friday when he drove for one of IndyCars Minnows unexpectedly significant after having driven 10 years since his last pole position.

“You know, even in the last few years that have been difficult in terms of results, I’ll take Germany as an example last year, where I finished ninth with the Haas car, which was very special,” he added . “I think we were in 12th place in Germany in 2018 after the last safety car. I’ve come back sixth or so in the last 10 laps. That was pretty cool

“Even if you don’t win, you have this feeling. Days that I completely forgot are when you get to the race weekend, you have these butterflies because you know if you do everything right you can end up on pole or try to win the race. That was definitely something I haven’t had a chance to do in the past few years. “

With the well-known story of Grosjean’s escape from the crash and the fireball that marked the end of his time with Haas F1, the 34-year-old says he has found a new racing home with DCRwRWR that no longer feels like an experiment.

“A lot of people ask how I felt in the first race, the Formula 1 race of the season, and I wasn’t there,” he said. I said, ‘Guys, the chapter is closed for me. I had a good time, now I want something different. ‘That’s what I was looking for.

“I love the atmosphere between the [IndyCar] Driver, I love the tracks. The cars are fun to drive. We can do some good things. I am really happy. A tough year for the family because I’m quite a long way from them. We knew what was going to happen this year before we decided on the future. I’m happier, I’ve said it a couple of times, I’m happier than in a long time. “