Grosjean: No regrets over Haas move

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Romain Grosjean says he has no regrets about joining Haas and ignores those who have criticised his approach at the team.

The Frenchman opted to join Haas from Lotus at the end of 2015, making his decision before Renault confirmed its return to F1. Having gone on to outscore Renault in its debut season in the sport, Grosjean says he is proud of what Haas has achieved and says his own complaints over team radio show how serious he is about pushing the team further forward.

"On a personal level it has been a great year," Grosjean wrote in his F1i blog. "I came here and everybody really wanted my feedback and really wanted me in the team. Of course there are ups and downs as well as frustrations because you are a competitor and you want to push everyone harder. Sometimes you want to dance faster than the music, but that’s what you’ve got to try to do; sometimes you’ll succeed and sometimes you’ll fail.

"People were critical of my move from Renault at the time, but I made the right call and I’ve made the right decisions. Some people still look for negatives, but I was always going to stay here next year. I also sometimes get stick for complaining on the radio so often, but it is part of the job. If you are not a perfectionist and you do not want to go to the next step, what is the point in coming?"

And Grosjean says he felt the need to lead the team this season which added pressure to his role, but says the end results are vindication of his decision to make the move.

"I’m very happy to be here, there’s nothing I regret. I think it was the best choice for my career. It shows I am capable in a different team to develop the car and guide the team, which carries a lot of weight on my shoulders - and sometimes I took it too hard - but is a role I relish. Haas put its faith in me and I put my faith in the team this year. Together we have delivered and I’m so proud of everybody."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.