Abu Dhabi: He may not be driving around with the big boys in Formula One, but Romain Grosjean still had a 24th birthday to savour.
The former Renault driver, teaming up with Thomas Mutsch, gave Matech Competition the perfect start to the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship by winning the first ever race of the series at the Yas Marina circuit last Saturday.
XPRESS caught up with the birthday boy later who understandably was all smiles.
"It was a very good start," said Grosjean. "The team did a great job. I like the car and at the end of the story this was a perfect weekend. Hopefully we can keep going like this for the season."
Grosjean, who holds dual nationality from France and Switzerland, last experienced a taste of the Yas Marina track at the 2009 Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix. "As I said, it's too much of a difference, a 35 second per lap difference," he explained. "Formula One is faster, but the circuit fits very well with the GT cars. All the kerbs [offer] good speed for a GT car and are maybe a little bit too slow for the Formula One car."
He added: "I think it's a good championship. You can overtake, there's a difference between cars, some are better in some areas and some are better in different areas. So at the end we have some very challenging races and that's what we need for the show and for the championship."
In terms of Grosjean's own approach, it seems there is no difference. "You give me a Formula One car or a GT car, I want to win. It's part of me, I'm a competitor," he said.
Celebrations for Grosjean and Matech Competition were partially overshadowed by the horrific crash suffered by the Swiss team's second car driver, Natacha Gachnang, the day before. "It's part of the race unfortunately. We know it's a risky job," said Grosjean who expects his teammate to emerge stronger from the setback. "She was joking about what happened. She's mentally fine. We all know sometimes you don't control everything. She will get back soon and even better I think."
