Romain Grosjean announced a move from Formula One to IndyCar on Wednesday but said he would not race on the more dangerous ovals for the sake of his family after a fiery crash in Bahrain last year.
Romain Grosjean to make return from injury in IndyCar
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Romain Grosjean will compete in a select number of IndyCar races this season for Dale Coyne Racing.
Grosjean made the announcement just over two months after his miraculous escape from a burning wreckage at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The French driver, who has explained in detail how he thought he was going to die while inside the car, was left with burns on both hands.
Romain Grosjean escaped from an inferno at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
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The crash forced Grosjean to miss the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which would have been his final race in F1 after Haas decided not to renew him for a sixth season.
Grosjean to race in IndyCar after 9 years in F1
Romain Grosjean never doubted he d race again after escaping a fiery crash in Bahrain with serious burns to his hands. Convincing his three young children that it was the right thing for him to do took some work.
The Canadian Press Romain Grosjean , The Canadian Press
Romain Grosjean never doubted he d race again after escaping a fiery crash in Bahrain with serious burns to his hands. Convincing his three young children that it was the right thing for him to do took some work.
“Initially they did not want me to race anymore and they told me to do every other job you can imagine tennis player, artist, engineer, cook, you name it,” Grosjean said. “But I explained to them that I was the dad that I was because I had racing and that was a big, big part of my life and it made me happy.”
Takuma Sato this year became the 20th driver to win the Indy 500 twice, following his 2017 victory in The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Racing driver Romain Grosjean, who survived a fiery crash during a Formula One race last November, will compete in the 2021 IndyCar season with Dale Coyne Racing. (Clive Mason - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
The Frenchman was engulfed in flames for nearly half a minute after his Haas F1 car came into contact with another vehicle and crashed into a barrier at 140 mph. He escaped major injury, but suffered burns to his hands that required him to wear bandages for over a month.