Jackie Stewart extends a hand to Romain Grosjean

By clashing with Mark Webber right at the start in Suzuka, Romain Grosjean naturally attracted the ire of the Australian and other paddock personalities who have lost count of the incidents involving the Geneva driver: “Since Singapore, I’ve tried to be really careful at the starts, and it was most frustrating to be involved in an accident in Japan,” lamented Romain Grosjean on the Lotus website. “Approaching the first corner, I was watching Sergio [Pérez] on my left to ensure there was no contact with him. I didn’t expect such a speed difference between Mark [Webber] and me at the corner braking point, we touched. It was a stupid mistake. Mark came to see me after the race and was obviously not happy, but I apologized, and we have to move forward. I sat down and looked again at things with the team: it remains certainly an area to improve. We are clearly focusing on this area for the next races.”

If some demand that the Franco-Swiss be banned again, for several Grand Prix this time, others believe that Lotus should simply no longer entrust Romain Grosjean. Jackie Stewart, an esteemed member of the paddock and an ambassador of Genii Capital, which owns the Lotus F1 Team, offers his help once again to the 26-year-old: I would love to help Romain because I think he has enormous potential. Other accidents could jeopardize his chances of driving for Lotus next season, not to mention the top teams. It’s his first full season in Formula 1 and he is fast enough to win races. In fact, I think he could have won one or two Grand Prix this season, but at the moment his potential is hidden by the number of accidents he has.

Thus, the BBC site notes eight incidents in which the French driver was involved this season, not necessarily being responsible each time: Australia, Malaysia, Spain, Monaco, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, and Japan. Last July, Jackie Stewart had already offered the Franco-Swiss driver to come have lunch at his place to receive some advice from someone who was in a way the mentor of François Cevert: Romain, who I must say is an extremely nice young man, chose not to respond to the invitation. Things were hectic at that time, he was about to go on his honeymoon and felt he had his own advisors to assist him.

The offer from the triple world champion, ambassador for the Lotus F1 Team, remains more relevant than ever: « When the time comes and he wants it, I will always be there for him because of my relationship with the team. For some reason, drivers think they no longer need coaches once they leave karting, unlike any other sport I know. »

However, the Scotsman allows himself to think that his personal journey, whether as a driver or team owner, could help Grosjean: « I was a rookie in Formula One myself and also led some driver development programs with Stewart Grand Prix, which helped drivers like David Coulthard, Juan Pablo Montoya, Gil de Ferran, and Allan McNish. »

For Jackie Stewart, Romain Grosjean must learn to balance his natural speed with race intelligence: « Having the talent and speed to win races can be intoxicating. What great drivers have is excellent mental management; they know how to handle things. It’s very rare for one of them to have an accident. It’s evident with Sebastian Vettel, and Fernando Alonso’s accident at the first corner in Japan is truly exceptional. The mind must rule over natural abilities. Having been a driver and having had very, very few accidents in my career, I know that to finish first, you must first finish, and you never win a race at the first corner, but you can quite often lose it.

All that remains for Romain Grosjean is to prove, by the end of the season, that the Suzuka accident was truly just a stupid mistake and that he is indeed learning lessons from his suspension, starting with the South Korean Grand Prix, which, with two overtaking opportunities immediately after the first corner, could be a real test for the Lotus driver.