Romain Grosjean has announced that he will not take part in the final Formula 1 race of the season in Abu Dhabi next week, following his major crash in Bahrain.
Grosjean suffered minor burns to his hands in the horrific opening lap collision last Sunday, and was subsequently ruled out of this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix.
Haas previously said that it would give Grosjean time to make a decision on whether or not he would return for the final race of the season, which was set to be his last race in the championship.
Grosjean has now confirmed that he will fly home to Switzerland to continue his recovery and miss out on the race at the Yas Marina Circuit.
“It is with great sadness that I will not be able to do my final race in Abu Dhabi and be with the team there,” said Grosjean.
“We’ve tried as much as we could with the doctor to recover and to repair my hand, but the risk of racing is too big for my recovery and my health.
“So, the decision was made that I’m not going to race. It’s one of the hardest decisions of my life, but it’s obviously one of the wisest. I will miss the team, but I will be supporting them as ever.”
Grosjean made his F1 debut in 2009, partnering two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso at Renault for the second half of the season.
After sitting out the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Grosjean re-joined the team in 2012 when it ran under the Lotus name, scoring nine podiums across the 2012 and 2013 campaigns.
His final podium came unexpectedly at the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix, when he inherited third place late on in the race following a puncture for Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
In 2016, Grosjean joined Haas as the American squad arrived in F1, bagging a best finish of fourth at the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix, which remains Haas’ most successful result to date.
“I’m naturally very sorry that Romain will miss what was going to be his final race with Haas F1 Team,” stated Guenther Steiner, Team Principal at Haas.
“But we are all in agreement that he has to take the best course of action regarding his treatment and recovery from last Sunday’s incident. Romain has shown exceptional bravery and amazing spirit over the last few days.
“We know how badly he wanted to be able to return to the cockpit of the VF-20 in Abu Dhabi. And we all would have loved him to have been there too.
“Romain believed in our Formula 1 project at the very start, he committed to drive for us before we’d even built a car. There is no doubting the determination and sheer effort he has put into helping us to achieve what we have as a young team in Formula 1.
We will forever be grateful for that belief and commitment. It is those qualities, his drive and ambition, that I’m sure will aid him on his recovery. On behalf of Gene Haas and myself, together with the whole Haas F1 Team operation, we wish Romain well and a return to full health.”
Haas also confirmed that Pietro Fittipaldi will continue to sub for Grosjean in Abu Dhabi.
The team has already announced Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin as its 2021 line-up.
