F1 drive

Abu Dhabi: Breaking into the competitive world of Formula One is one thing, remaining there is an entirely different matter as young Frenchman Romain Grosjean discovered.

It was only a few months back, the 2009 European Grand Prix to be precise, when Grosjean was living his dream, at the tender age of 23 after Renault decided to replace out of favour Nelson Piquet Jr with the young rookie. Unfortunately, being partner to double world champion Fernando Alonso proved to be a brief experience which ended with the 2009 season. But Grosjean has already set his heart on getting back to where he reckons he belongs as he gears up for his latest challenge, the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship which debuts at the Yas Marina circuit this weekend. "The GT1 World Championship is a completely new experience and a very nice championship on paper. I'm looking forward to it, taking this experience and maybe trying to go back to Formula One in 2011," he told XPRESS ahead of a practice session yesterday.

Brighter side

Admitting that his Formula One debut did not unfold in ideal circumstances with Renault embroiled in a race-fixing scandal at the time which led to the eventual departure of team principal Flavio Briatore, Grosjean still believes there are positives to draw from his stint.

"I'm very proud of what I did in Formula One. I was very close to Fernando and Fernando is winning races today with a very good car," he said.

"I was at the wrong place at the wrong moment, sometimes that happens. That's why I think I clearly have my place in Formula One," he added.

For now, Grosjean, who has signed for Swiss team Matech Competition, just wants to make it a memorable 24th birthday this Saturday by getting his GT1 career off to the best possible start. "It's a world championship like Formula One. It's great to be here with nice cars and maybe in the future it can always be good to have this experience in the bag," he said.

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