Romain Grosjean expects 2020 will be his last season in Formula 1.
Earlier on Thursday, the Frenchman revealed he will leave Haas five years after being attracted to the American team when they joined the grid in 2016.
Not long afterwards, his teammate for the past four years, Kevin Magnussen, also announced his departure, something Grosjean acknowledged he was surprised by.
“Yes, a little bit,” he told reporters at Portimao. “I knew probably one of us would be out at the end of the year just because of the situation around the world and COVID has made it very hard financially for a lot of companies.
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“So I knew one of us would go out and that’s why I said to Guenther [Steiner, team boss] when he called me, I was expecting one of us. And he said, ‘No, for financial reasons I need both of you out’.
“So, fair enough. I fully understand. I know it’s been a tough year with COVID and a lot of industries or companies have suffered from it.
“The team is going a different path and I wish them luck and the best for the future.”
It is expected one of the seats will go to Russian F2 driver Nikita Mazepin, who has substantial backing from his billionaire father Dmitry, while either Robert Shwartzman or Mick Schumacher touted to join him.
As for where this leaves Grosjean, the 34-year-old accepts this is likely it for his F1 career, which began initially with Renault in 2009 before returning at Lotus in 2012.
Recently, he confirmed a desire to join Peugeot’s new Hypercar project in WEC and is excited about the prospect of racing in a more competitive environment.
“There are a few discussions and few options that I would love to race,” he said.
“I miss coming into a race weekend thinking I can fight for the win this weekend I can fight for a podium, I need to get the best of myself to get there, rather than just maybe hoping to get out of Q1 and if things happen, score points.
“Outside Formula 1 there are many things, many challenges that are appealing.
“Probably not cars as fast as Formula 1 as nothing is as fast as an F1 car but different challenges and winning – winning is something I really miss, and hopefully I get back to it quite soon.”
