Romain Grosjean makes a race return to Formula 1 after previously contesting the final seven Grands Prix of 2009.Prior to that Romain had secured the 2007 Formula Three Euroseries championship and won the inaugural GP2 Asia Series championship in 2008. After his 2009 F1 foray, Romain contested the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship in 2010, winning the opening race of the season. He competed in his first Le Mans 24 Hours that year too. It wasn’t long before he returned to single seaters, with partial campaigns in the Auto GP and GP2 seasons, and he ended with the GP2 Asia Series and GP2 Series championship titles secured.

Key details

Date of birth: 17 April 1986
Place of birth: Geneva, Switzerland
Nationality: French
Visit Romain’s official website

Key dates

2000 – 2003: Karting and Formula Renault
Romain raced Karts from Junior categories through to ICA karts, as well as completing Formula A races in 2002. He combined Formula ICA in 2003 with the start of his car racing career. Ten wins from ten races saw Romain crowned Swiss Formula Renault champion.

2004 – 2005: Formula Renault 2.0
Romain competed partial seasons in both the French and European Formula Renault championships, finishing as second best rookie in the 2004 French championship, including 1 win and 3 podiums. He won the title with 10 wins the following year.

2006 – 2007: F3 Euroseries
Romain finished 13th in the F3 Euroseries, which included two wins during the British F3 Championship rounds. For 2007, he took the title in impressive style in a closely-fought series, with a total of 6 wins, 6 podiums and 4 pole positions.

2008: GP2 Series and ING Renault F1 Team test driver
In 2008, Romain combined his responsibilities as test driver for the ING Renault F1 Team with campaigns in the GP2 Asia Series and GP2 Series. He won the Asia series, taking four wins along the way. Romain was also a frontrunner in the main Series, winning two races.

2009: GP2 Series and ING Renault F1 Team test and race driver
2009 was to prove to be a year of opportunity for Romain. He started the year as test driver for the ING Renault F1 Team as well as contesting the GP2 Series. By the European Grand Prix he was a full-time race driver for the team, starting seven Grands Prix as team-mate to Fernando Alonso.

2010 – 2011: Regroup and refocus
He contested the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship, winning the first Championship Race. He also returned to single seaters scoring a first and second at his first event in the Auto GP series, and within three further races the title was his. In July he returned to the GP2 Series, which proved to be a precursor to a full-time return the following year. Late in the year, Romain became Pirelli’s test driver. 2011 proved to be highly successful, with the GP2 Asia Series and the GP2 Series titles won, and a return to an F1 car with Friday runs at Abu Dhabi and Brazil for Lotus Renault GP.

Romain Grosjean makes a return to Formula 1 after contesting seven races in 2009. he talks about the challenge of his first full season in the sport he loves

How does it feel to have a full-time F1 drive?

It’s just starting to sink in. It’s a dream come true to get this drive. A fantastic emotion and a fantastic challenge as well. I think the team has a really good line-up for this year, with Kimi and myself. Hopefully we can do something special. I think I’ll only truly realise it when we get to Melbourne and I see my name on the official entry list. For now I’m really happy to be at the factory as much as I can, to get involved with the team and get ready for testing.

How do you view this season – you had a part season two years ago – so is this a part-rookie year?

It’s difficult to say how I should view this season. For sure I did seven grands prix alongside Fernando [Alonso] and the experience I gained from that was helpful - and is still helpful today. On the other hand there are still some circuits that I don’t know. But I don’t think we can say I’m a rookie, just because of the experience I have. Let’s say that I am a young driver who still has plenty of things to learn in Formula One, but we are all expecting a good season.

How and why is the 2012 specification Romain Grosjean different compared to the 2009 version?

Compared with 2009 I am two years older! No big difference, just an improvement in terms of many small things, including maturity. The 2009 experience was very helpful for me to understand things and grow up from that point. So it was difficult, but very good as well. The 2012 Romain Grosjean sees life a little bit different. My aim is to enjoy my number one passion, Formula One.

What do you expect will be your biggest challenge in 2012?

Formula One is a big, big challenge, but I think the biggest challenge personally will be to get 100 per cent out of myself and the car, every time. No mistakes. That is the life of a Formula One driver. You need to get 100 per cent out of the car, focus, concentrate and improve lap after lap. So I hope we can have a good car from the beginning of the season, some good ambitions going into the first race and just develop all season long.

What do you think of the new car?

From what I’ve seen of the new car so far, I can say that the colours are the same! We will see when get on the track. Hopefully it will be a good car and we can give it a nice nickname after the first test. Then we will try to improve it lap after lap and session after session.

Asia: Romain is the only man to have won the GP2 Asia Series twice – becoming champion in 2008 and 2011.

Bank job: To balance out the glamour of life as a Formula 1 racing driver (see J), Romain has put in plenty of stints of part- time work at a Swiss bank in Geneva.

Craftsman: Romain’s grandfather on his mother’s side was a very well known iron craftsman (Edgar Brandt) who constructed the ironwork on the unknown soldier’s grave under the Arc de Triomphe.

Dual Nationality: Romain was born in Geneva to a Swiss father and a French mother on April 17, 1986.

Euroseries: Romain won the Formula 3 Euroseries title in 2007.

Formula Renault: Romain took a victory in his debut season in the French Formula Renault championship in 2004.

Gap year: Romain took a successful step back from F1 in 2010, becoming AutoGP champion despite missing a third of the season’s races (see N).

Harbour master: After qualifying in 26th place for last year’s Monaco feature race, Romain stormed through the field to finish 4th.

Ice ice baby: Kimi is not the only iceman in the Lotus line-up this year as Romain has also competed in Andros Trophy ice racing, taking a victory on only his second outing.

Jolles: Proving racing drivers – and bank workers – really do have a hard life, Romain’s fiancee is French Formula 1 TV reporter Marion Jolles.

Karting: Romain made his debut competing in karts in 2000 at the age of 14. Only three years later he graduated to single-seaters.

Late starter: Romain’s father wouldn’t let him race until he improved his grades at school.

Multiple champion: The Frenchman is the only driver to have won the GP2 Asia and the GP2 Series in the same season (2011).

Night owl: In 2010, Romain also fitted in victories in two of the first three races in the inaugural FIA GT1 world championship, plus visits to the Le Mans and Spa 24-Hour races.

Overtaking: Commentators gasped in disbelief as Romain pulled off a move to take three places in the space of two corners in last year’s GP2 race in Barcelona..

Pau-fection: Romain has only made one appearance in the British F3 championship, but it wasn’t too bad. At Pau in 2006 he took pole, then victory and fastest lap in both races.

Quick team-mates: After facing Fernando Alonso in 2009, now it’s Kimi Raikkonen’s turn.

Renault: Apart from his stints in Formula Renault, Romain already has seven F1 grands prix starts on his CV from his first stint in the top echelon with Renault.

Skiing: Romain’s grandfather on his father’s side, finished second in the skiing world championship in 1950, in Aspen.

Toques Blanches lyonnaises: A very 19 famous group of French chefs of which Romain is a member.

Unfinished business: Romain admits to an embarrassing moment in one Formula Renault race in 2004 when he stopped a lap too early...

Valencia: Romain made his Formula 1 debut at the 2009 European Grand Prix.

Winning habit: Romain has won at least one race in every year of his racing career, dating back to 2003.

X: Roman numerals time for Romain, who took a mighty total of X GPII Series podiums in MMXI, V of them on the top step.

You kidding? Let’s be honest, there were a few better places that Romain could have picked to crash during practice for the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix...

Zolder: Romain took pole position for the prestigious Masters of F3 race at Zolder in 2007, only to stall at the start and finish 14th.