Grosjean in emotional return to F1 cockpit after fiery crash
FILE PHOTO: May 26, 2023; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; IndyCar Series driver Romain Grosjean during Carb Day practice for the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
An emotional Romain Grosjean shed tears behind his visor on Friday after driving a Formula One car for the first time since a 2020 fireball crash ended his grand prix career.
The 39-year-old French driver reunited with the Haas team at Italy's Mugello circuit and got the send-off he missed all those years ago after his crash in Bahrain.
"They made me cry at the end of the day," he revealed.
"I kept my visor down but for my last in-lap everyone from Ferrari, Red Bull, Pirelli and of course Haas F1 team was here, clapping and giving me like an ovation.
"That's something I was expecting in Abu Dhabi 2020 but I think it was even better today."
Grosjean missed the last two races of his final season after the fiery opening-lap crash at Sakhir.
The driver suffered burns to his hands as he clambered out of the flame-engulfed car in an escape that has gone down in F1 legend.
Members of his original crew, including current team principal Ayao Komatsu who was previously a race engineer, were in attendance as he drove a 2023 car in a session that also featured other teams testing Pirelli tyres.
"It was a wet day but as we say, a rainy wedding is a happy wedding. So it was a rainy day, a happy day. Fantastic," said Grosjean.
"I felt a bit rusty at first and then everything came back, even got to do a standing start. And guess what? My last standing start was Bahrain 2020 so this time it turned out way better."
