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Much of the IndyCar Silly Season speculation has centered around the possible 2024 destinations of 2021 NTT IndyCar Series champion and current points leader Alex Palou. To just a slightly lesser extent, a lot of focus has been on his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson. It appears that there will be at least one vacant seat at Ganassi for next season. Depending on what Marcus Armstrong does (or what Ganassi decides to do with the No. 11 entry), there could be as many as three new drivers at Ganassi for 2024.

I’ve already gone on record as saying that I think that David Malukas will drive for Ganassi next season. I will now go on record regarding the fate of another driver, who is the topic of an increasing amount of speculation – Romain Grosjean.

Less than three months ago, many thought it was a formality that Grosjean would receive a contract extension at Andretti Autosport. The likeable Swiss-born French driver had a rocky first season at Andretti, after an excellent IndyCar debut season at Dale Coyne Racing. But 2023 started strong for the former F1 star. He won the pole in the season-opener at St. Petersburg. He and Scott McLaughlin were locked in a tight battle for the lead, when it all went terribly wrong on Lap 71. He and McLaughlin were fighting for the same stretch of a corner, and neither of them made it out without contact. McLaughlin was deemed to be slightly more at fault, but either driver could have avoided the contact. McLaughlin was able to continue, but the day was done for Grosjean who was credited with eighteenth. On the plus side, Grosjean had shown his speed and was praised for not giving an inch.

In the next race at Texas, Grosjean moved up from his eleventh starting spot and actually led very late in the race. But with two laps to go, Grosjean clipped the rear wheel of David Malukas. It was enough to send Grosjean into the wall, and finishing a disappointing fourteenth. Two races into the season, and Grosjean had two DNFs.

At Long Beach, Grosjean qualified third and finished second – behind teammate Kyle Kirkwood. Grosjean battled all day, but it was Kirkwood’s day. Still, he was happy to finish second, after two consecutive DNFs to start the season. At Barber, Grosjean won his second pole of the season. Once again, he finished second to race winner Scott McLaughlin.

Four races into the season, Grosjean had two poles and two second-place finishes. After two DNFs, Grosjean had certainly gotten his season back on track. There was no question that Grosjean had earned an extension. It was just a question of when it would be announced. Many that are considered “in the know” predicted that a formal announcement would come during the Month of May.

Unfortunately for Grosjean, May is when things suddenly took a turn for the worse. He finished eleventh in the GMR Grand Prix, a race he has normally excelled at. He crashed out of the Indianapolis 500 and finished thirtieth, earning his third DNF of the season. It got worse at Detroit as Grosjean hit the wall hard and finished a disappointing twenty-fourth and his fourth DNF of the season. He was off the pace all weekend at Road America and finished twenty-fourth, but did finish the race.

Mid-Ohio was run over the Fourth of July weekend. And Grosjean finally had his best finish since the GRM Grand Prix – thirteenth. Toronto saw Grosjean get his fifth DNF of the season, when the wheel slipped out of his hand after hitting a pothole and he finished twenty-second. He finished eleventh and twelfth in last weekend’s double-header at Iowa, but did not crash.

With five races to go in the 2023 IndyCar season, Grosjean has five DNFs, two poles and two second-place finishes. Three months ago, fans were wondering when the contract extension for Grosjean will be announced. Now fans are connecting dots and wondering where Grosjean might be driving in 2024, or if he’ll even still be in the series.

Many are penciling in David Malukas and Marcus Ericsson at Andretti for 2024; with Malukas in the No. 29 now driven by Devlin DeFrancesco and Ericsson in the No. 28 driven by Grosjean. Some say Grosjean will go back to Coyne, while others say he will only drive for Lamborghini in IMSA in 2024, a deal he already has.

What do I think? You know I don’t fully agree with most that put Malukas at Andretti. I still feel certain he will drive for Ganassi next season, I just don’t know which car. I do think Marcus Ericsson will end up at Andretti Autosport. I think he and Ganassi are too far apart, financially and philosophically. Ganassi insists that the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner should continue to bring money for that seat. Ericsson feels that his resume warrants a paid drive. I agree with Ericsson.

Unlike most people, I tend to think that Romain Grosjean will return to Andretti with an extension in-hand. I predict that Grosjean will stay in the No. 28 DHL car and Ericsson will replace DeFrancesco in the No. 29 car.

I really like Grosjean and hope this is the case, but I don’t think I’m letting my opinion of him sway my thinking. Like everyone, I saw the fiery video of Grosjean’s F1 crash at Bahrain in 2020 long before I knew he was even thinking of moving to IndyCar. I just wanted to pull fr anyone who came out of that crash not only physically, but mentally and emotionally.

I was impressed with his demeanor in the Coyne car and with his results. What made me a fan however, was about halfway through the 2021 season. Susan and I were at Road America, having lunch at Honda Hospitality and we were the only ones at our table. It was not crowded and there were plenty of empty seats at other tables. Grosjean walked in totally alone – no handlers or PR folks – just him. He fixed his plate, then came over to our table and asked if we minded if he joined us. Was he kidding? Of course, we didn’t mind.

He was so kind and unassuming. We talked through lunch, even though Susan and I had been finished for a while. Had we not known who he was already, we would have never know he was a driver, much less just eight months removed from being a Formula One regular. He talked to us like any normal guy off of the street – just with a French accent. He was polite and even carried Susan’s plate to the trash as we finished.

It’s weird how some random encounter can shape your perception of someone. I’m sure Grosjean has absolutely no recollection of that chance meeting over lunch, but Susan and I will remember it always. It’s not because he was famous that I’ll remember it. I’ve met lots of drivers who came off as total jerks in person. It’s because he was so genuine, nice and polite.

Romain Grosjean ruffled some feathers in 2022, among fans and his fellow drivers. I think sometimes he can let his emotions get the best of him, especially when he is having a bad weekend at the track. But my very limited experience with him off of the track was nothing but positive.

The NTT IndyCar Series is better off with Romain Grosjean in it. He has 1.4 Million Twitter followers, which is a gauge of popularity. For comparison, Colton Herta has 44,000 followers, Josef Newgarden has 99,000, Scott Dixon has 139,000, Helio Castroneves has 170,000 and Tony Kanaan, arguably IndyCar’s most popular driver has 629,000 followers – less than half of Grosjean’s followers. IndyCar’s rise in popularity in the last three seasons can, at least, partly be attributed to Grosjean. While Twitter followers may not be important to many folks, I’ll promise you it’s important to DHL. Therefore, it’s important to Michael Andretti.

So mark my word – Romain Grosjean is staying put at Andretti Autosport. He will be driving the No. 28 DHL car in 2024. Stay tuned as the 2024 Silly Season is about to hit full gear.

George Phillips

Please Note – Susan and I took the month of July off from attending IndyCar races. Our old bodies and our bank account needed a chance to recuperate. Starting next weekend, we will resume attending races – starting with the Music City Grand Prix. Even though we get to sleep in our own bed, I am usually worn out by the time that race weekend is over. Five days later, we travel to Indianapolis for the IndyCar portion of the Brickyard weekend. Our in-person racing season will come to a close at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway two week later.

This is a long, drawn out way to say that I will be taking a day off Monday July 31. With no race this weekend, we are going to devote the weekend to taking it easy and not sitting behind a keyboard. I will return here on Wednesday August 2. Please check back then – GP

This entry was posted on July 28, 2023 at 4:04 am and is filed under IndyCar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.