Coyne "would love to have" Grosjean on 2021 IndyCar team
Dale Coyne says he would “love to have” ex-Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean join his IndyCar team for the 2021 season, and is targeting an announcement next week.
Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
After losing his F1 drive with Haas last October, Grosjean confirmed that he was exploring options in a number of other championships, including IndyCar, for the future.
Grosjean admitted after his fiery accident at the Bahrain Grand Prix that he was having second thoughts about IndyCar, but talks have since continued with Dale Coyne Racing over a drive.
Coyne holds one of the few remaining seats on the IndyCar grid for 2021. The team announced on Wednesday that Ed Jones would be returning in the #18 car, marking his return to the series after a year away.
In a press conference announcing Jones, team owner Coyne said he hoped to “announce our other driver next week” in the #19 entry.
Asked directly about talks with Grosjean, Coyne said that while he was keen to see the Frenchman take the seat, he was also in talks with some other free agents.
“You all could make a list of a hundred drivers, we've talked to probably every one of them this winter that are employed, unemployed, in America, Europe, every country,” Coyne said. “It's been kind of amazing. Obviously Romain is a good driver. We'd love to have him.
“We're working on a few other ones as well. Hopefully we get all that buttoned up and make an announcement next week and then get out to testing in February.”
Should a deal be finalised, it is not clear whether Grosjean would be in the cockpit for the full season including ovals, or only for the road and street course events.
Despite an initial unease about driving on ovals, Grosjean said prior to his accident in Bahrain that he could “put fear aside” to race on them, confirming that talks with US teams were underway.
Coyne has traditionally fielded its drivers as full-season entries, running Santino Ferrucci and Alex Palou last year.
Grosjean was unable to return to his Haas F1 seat for the final two races of last season after sustaining severe burns to his hands in the accident.
But he has since had the bandages completed removed from his hands, and has regularly shared updates regarding his recovery on social media.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Related video
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Has Alonso made the right choice gambling on Aston Martin F1?
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Purdue partnership paying IndyCar dividends for Juncos Hollinger Racing
JHR becomes first IndyCar team to launch Spanish social channels
The missing factor that Grosjean developed too late to transform his F1 career
Dale Coyne Racing tabs Jack Harvey for GP of Long Beach
Katherine Legge lands Indy 500 ride with Dale Coyne Racing
Dale Coyne picks the Top 10 drivers in his giant-slaying team
Mercedes becomes first F1 team to exceed £500m turnover
Red Bull’s 2026 F1 engine project “hitting the targets”, says Horner
IndyCar tweaks split practice format for Long Beach
NASCAR Euro recap: "The Big One" erupts in Valencia
The apprenticeship that will aid Ilott's IndyCar to WEC switch at Jota
The long evolution of Dallara's Indy 500 winner
Nigel Mansell’s greatest F1 and Indycar drives
Ranking the top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments