Grosjean believes German GP crucial to his F1 survival

Romain Grosjean has pinpointed the German Grand Prix as the event in which he got his form back. The Frenchman had been struggling up to that point compared to teammate Kevin Magnussen but highlighted the race at Hockenheim as a turning point in his season.

Having largely underperformed up to that race, Grosjean's F1 future wasn't looking safe with several seats opening up and drivers on the move in one of the most active silly season's in some time. However, the Haas driver hit his stride just at the right time to impress enough to retain his seat at the American team.

"Germany. It was the point and I knew it, I found what were the issues before and worked them through," Grosjean told Motorsport.com.

"I knew from Germany I was back on form. Things had to turn at one point.

"The season looked worse than it was actually was sometimes because of bad luck. Bahrain I was in the points and lost half the car (when bodywork broke), then Canada I think I was scoring points and didn't make qualifying.

"Silverstone was the time when (I thought), 'OK, I need to understand things and make sure that things are going my way all the time'. Then Germany and Hungary I knew I was back on track."

Grosjean was confirmed alongside Magnussen by Haas for 2019 during the Russian Grand Prix weekend, Haas one of the only teams on the grid to name an unchanged line-up from the current season.

Grosjean was quick to pay tribute to those who had shown faith in him through his out-of-form phase earlier in the season.

"They know what I have done for the team and I think they were patient and that was great," he said.

"They are racers and they do understand racing and there were no reasons for me not to be the same as before.

"There are a lot of drivers willing to drive for no money or no salary, so it is not easy to keep your seat.

"But experience is something you cannot buy and I guess for a team like Haas that is still developing and growing, an experienced driver is very important."