Grosjean to test Haas F1 car at Mugello, first return to F1 in five years

Romain Grosjean will return to Formula One this weekend when he tests Haas’ 2023 VF-23 at Mugello, marking his first time behind the wheel of an F1 car since the Bahrain Grand Prix fireball crash in 2020. The 39-year-old Frenchman is scheduled to drive on Friday in a Testing of Previous Car (TPC) session, stepping back into a Formula One cockpit five years after a crash that left him fearing death.

Grosjean will wear a helmet that his children designed for what was meant to be his swansong at Abu Dhabi in 2020, as he prepares to take part in the TPC with Haas, the team with which he spent five seasons in F1. “I’m incredibly grateful to Gene Haas and to Ayao Komatsu for inviting me to participate in the TPC at Mugello,” he said. “To say I’m excited to get back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car would naturally be an understatement. I really can’t believe it’s been almost five years, but to come back and have this outing with my old team is truly something special. I’m excited to see everyone, I’m sure we’ll spend a bit of time reminiscing about the old days, but I’m also keen to be of use regarding the trackside agenda with the VF-23 — it’s great the team now has the TPC program as part of its on-going development.”

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said he was “absolutely thrilled” to welcome Grosjean back into an F1 car and emphasized the significance of the outing in a car built for the team’s ongoing development. “Romain and I have worked together throughout his entire Formula 1 career, so this test at Mugello is of particular significance to us both,” Komatsu said. “I’m delighted he embraced the opportunity to come and get back behind the wheel with us, a day that’s going to be made extra special by having so many members of the original crew back together to witness it. It should be a fun day and knowing Romain as I do, I know he’ll want to give it his all as usual — I’d expect nothing less, not least as we’ve talked about making this happen for a long time now.”

Grosjean’s comeback comes with a reminder of the catastrophe that changed his career. The Haas car he drove in Bahrain in 2020 split in two on impact with the barrier after he reached about 137 mph (220 kph). The crash unfolded as his cockpit was engulfed in flames, but the halo device – introduced two years earlier to protect the cockpit area – helped prevent him from contacting the steel barriers as the car rotated and lodged itself in the barriers. Grosjean escaped after about 28 seconds, aided by his reflexes and emergency responders on site. He suffered burns to his hands but otherwise avoided life-threatening injuries, and he spent the night under observation while being monitored.

The crash shocked the paddock and prompted widespread discussion about driver safety and the halo’s effectiveness. Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion, captured the mood at the time, calling Grosjean’s survival a miracle. Since Bahrain, Grosjean has continued racing in North America, including a return to open-wheel racing in IndyCar where he has served as a reserve driver, as well as competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. He has also pursued opportunities to remain connected to F1 through development programs and private tests with former colleagues.

The Mugello test marks a meaningful moment in Grosjean’s journey back toward high-level competition, framed by the Haas team’s ongoing development and the broader narrative surrounding his resilience. The session is not intended as a return to full-time competition but as a controlled, collaborative test within Haas’ ongoing development schedule and the larger TPC framework. For Grosjean, it offers a chance to evaluate a newer generation of machinery and to reconnect with the sport he helped shape, five years after a crash that forced him to redefine his career path and, ultimately, his future in motorsport.