Grosjean no longer has to wait at the airport: 'I’ll be flying myself'

Romain Grosjean has not been idle since leaving Formula 1 behind. The IndyCar driver got his pilot's licence in November and plans to fly himself to most races in 2023.

By obtaining his pilot's licence, Grosjean has fulfilled a dream cherished for years. He started his flying training in August 2022 and has logged 115 flying hours since then. Since November, he can officially call himself a pilot and he plans to make full use of it.

Whenever possible, he wants to fly himself to all the races on the calendar in 2023. "If the weather is good enough, I’ll be flying," he says in conversation with NBC. The Andretti Autosport driver also jokes that he might be able to pilot commercial flights before the end of the year. "Then I can take Roger (Penske). Roger can pay me to fly him around to races if things go bad with racing."

Grosjean was on the podium 10 times in Formula 1 and had his best season in 2013, in which he took six podiums with Lotus and finished seventh in the standings. In his F1 career, he competed for Renault, Lotus and Haas. In 2023, he will start his third season in the IndyCar class.