Grosjean to have his final F1 drive in Hamilton’s title-winning car
Romain Grosjean will complete the final chapter of his Formula One career by driving Lewis Hamilton's titlewinning Mercedes.
The 35-year-old Frenchman's time in F1 ended prematurely after he sustained severe burns in a remarkable fireball crash at last November's Bahrain Grand Prix.
But Grosjean, who has not driven a grand prix machine since the jaw-dropping accident, will take to the cockpit of Hamilton's 2019 Silver Arrows for a speciallyarranged Mercedes test at the Paul Ricard circuit in France on June 29.
He will also complete a demonstration run in Hamilton's car ahead of the French Grand Prix two days later.
Grosjean, who competed in 179 races and scored 10 podiums, said: "I am so excited to jump back in an F1 car.
"It will be a special opportunity for me and 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 [team principal] Toto [Wolff ] made the invitation. Reading that cheered me up a lot."
Wolff said: "The idea first came when it looked like Romain would be ending his active career in Formula One, and we didn't want his accident to be his last moment in an F1 car. I have known
Romain since his days in Formula Three when he won the championship.
"He enjoyed a long and successful F1 career and we wanted to make sure that his final memories would be at the wheel of a championship-winning car."
Meanwhile, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has admitted he would be "surprised" if Mercedes drop Valtteri Bottas and replace him with George Russell
before the end of the season. It was reported earlier this week that Bottas, who is already 37 points behind team-mate Hamilton after just three rounds, could be relieved of his duties by the Silver Arrows.
The Finn, 31, in his fifth season with the world champions, started on pole at last weekend's Portuguese Grand Prix but fell away to finish third.
Russell, 23, is waiting in the wings after excelling as a
replacement for a Covid-hit Hamilton at the Sakhir GP in December. He would have won and beaten Bottas but for a poor Mercedes pit-stop and late puncture.
Russell, a junior driver for the Silver Arrows, continues to impress at Williams, and qualified 11th at Portimao in his uncompetitive machinery.
But Red Bull boss Horner, whose team have a track record of mid-season driver
swaps, does not believe Mercedes will adopt their blueprint.
Horner said: "Valtteri has demonstrated he can drive the car very quickly.
"Circumstances are always going to happen so let's see how things pan out, but Valtteri has done a great job for Mercedes over the last few years.
"I would be surprised if they did switch Valtteri and George around mid-season."