Romain Grosjean has confirmed that he will serve as a mentor to Renault Sport Academy member Louis Delétraz, supporting the Swiss hopeful on his ascent through the junior categories.
The son of former F1 driver and two-time Le Mans class winner Jean-Denis Delétraz, the 18-year-old is coming off an impressive season in Formula Renault 2.0 that saw him win the NEC and finish runner-up in the flagship Eurocup series.
Delétraz Sr and Grosjean’s father have known each other for over three decades, with their sons also forming a close bond despite Louis being 11 years younger than the Geneva-born Frenchman.
“I’m passionate about racing and whenever there’s a talented young driver coming along, and he’s a nice guy on top of that, I’d like to help,” Grosjean said.
“It’s good for the sport. I will try to give [Delétraz] as much advice as I can and it will be great to work together and have some fun. If he has any questions, he can just ask me.”
Grosjean’s motivation comes from his own past experience, having received a similar tutoring when learning the ropes in the feeder formulae.
“I had some support from Jean Alesi when I was part of the French federation. He was a mentor and living in Geneva the same as me. We went training together in Chamonix and I remember the small conversations we had where initially, you don’t think there’s a lot coming out of it as a youngster.
“But when you get older, you realise there were useful messages in what he was saying. That proved to be very helpful for my career and if I can do the same for Louis, that would be great.”
In 2016, Delétraz will dovetail his RSA duties with a maiden season in the rebranded Formula V8 3.5 series, driving for reigning Teams’ champions Fortec Motorsports.
“I have known Romain for a some time now,” Delétraz told F1i. “He has been through pretty much everything in his career. In Switzerland he has somehow paved the way for the younger generation.
“We often train together in Geneva and he has always told me that I could give him a call if I needed help. He is also going to show me around the F1 paddock, introducing me to different people, etc. I really look forward to working with him”.
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