Romain Grosjean will drive a Formula One automobile for the primary time since his fiery crash in Bahrain final November when he tries out Lewis Hamilton’s 2019 title-winning Mercedes at Le Castellet in June.
Mercedes mentioned the 35-year-old will carry out demonstration laps forward of his house French Grand Prix on June 27, after which check at the southern circuit on June 29 — seven months to the day for the reason that crash.
The check fulfils a promise made by Mercedes principal Toto Wolff as Grosjean, who’s now racing within the U.S.-based IndyCar collection, lay in hospital.
“I’m so excited to bounce again in an F1 automobile,” said Grosjean in a Mercedes statement. “To drive a world championship-winning Mercedes will be a unique experience.
“The first I heard about the chance to drive a Mercedes was in my hospital bed in Bahrain when Toto was speaking to the media and made the invitation. Reading that news cheered me up a lot.”
Grosjean’s Haas automobile break up in half and erupted in a fireball after penetrating a steel barrier on the opening lap at Sakhir.
Amazingly, the Frenchman managed to clamber out of the wreckage, struggling burns to his fingers. He missed the remaining two races.
The Frenchman, who made 179 F1 begins with 10 podium appearances, had a seat becoming and hung out within the simulator at Mercedes’ Brackley manufacturing unit in March.
“I’m trying ahead to seeing him once more in France and welcoming him to the workforce for the weekend, though he’d higher take care of my W10,” said seven times world champion Hamilton.
Wolff said Mercedes were happy to give the driver his opportunity.
“We didn’t want his accident to be his last moment in an F1 car,” mentioned the Austrian.
“I’ve identified Romain since his days in Formula Three when he received the championship. He loved a protracted and profitable F1 profession and we needed to be sure that his ultimate recollections could be at the wheel of a championship-winning automobile.”
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