Romain Grosjean

Interesting facts

Born in Geneva to a Swiss father and French mother, he carries an unusual family legacy: his great-grandfather Edgar Brandt was a celebrated French weapons designer, while his grandfather Fernand Grosjean won Olympic-level silver in giant slalom at the 1950 World Ski Championships in Aspen. His multi-car pile-up at the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix, which collected Hamilton, Alonso and Pérez, earned him the first race ban handed to a driver in 18 years; at the Japanese Grand Prix that same season he clattered into Mark Webber at turn one, who branded him a 'first-lap nutcase.' He picked number 8 for his car from 2014 onward for a personal reason: his wife Marion was born on December 8, they started dating in 2008, and, in his words, 'my son is the 8th wonder of the world.' His 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix crash saw his Haas hit the barrier at 67 g and split in half in a fireball; he climbed out of the burning wreckage unaided after 28 seconds and credited the halo device with saving his life. Far from retiring, he moved to IndyCar in 2021, was voted the series' most popular driver that year, and returns to a full-time seat with Dale Coyne Racing in 2026. Romain Grosjean made his Formula 1 debut in 2009 and raced until 2020, 10 seasons in total as a French driver. He scored a total of 391 championship points over his career. His best season was 2013, when he finished 7th in the championship with 132 points.