Romain Grosjean: “My return to Formula 1 as a starting driver? A dream come true”

Romain Grosjean makes his return to Formula 1 after competing in seven races in 2009. He talks about the challenge of his first season as a regular Formula 1 driver.

How do you feel about being a regular F1 driver?
Romain Grosjean: “It's a dream come true. A fantastic emotion and a fantastic challenge awaiting me. I think the team has a really good driver duo with me and Kimi this year. Hopefully we can do something special. I think I'll only really realize 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 be involved with the team and prepare for the test.”

How do you see this season – You played part of a season 2 years ago – so this is not really a debut for you..
Romain Grosjean: “It's hard to say how I should view this season. For sure I did seven Grands Prix alongside Fernando [Alonso] and the experience I gained is important – and is still useful today. On the other hand there are still some circuits that I don't know. But I don't think we can say that I'm a rookie, precisely because of the experience I have. Let's say I am a young driver who still has many things to learn in Formula One, but we are all waiting for a good season.”

How and why will this year be different for you than 2009?
Romain Grosjean: “Compared to 2009, it's two years longer! There's no big difference, just an improvement in terms of many little things, including maturity. The 2009 experience was very helpful for me to figure things out and grow from that point. It was difficult, but very good. The Romain Grosjean of 2012 sees life a little differently. My goal is to enjoy my number one passion, Formula One.”

What do you expect for this season?
Romain Grosjean: “Formula One is a great, great challenge, but I think the biggest challenge will be personally getting 100 percent from myself and the car, every time. There is no need to make mistakes. This is the life of a Formula One driver. You need to get 100 percent from the car, concentrate and improve lap after lap. So I hope we can have a good car from the start of the season.”

What do you think of the new car?
Romain Grosjean: “From what I have seen of the new car so far, I can say that the colors are the same! We'll see when we get on track. We hope that it is a good car and that we are able to give a positive opinion after the first test. Then we will try to improve it lap after lap and session after session.”