Romain Grosjean wouldn’t mind a third stint at Renault as he considers his options for 2021.
The Frenchman, like many drivers, is without a contract for next season and may well be on the market should he or Haas have another poor year after a torrid 2019.
Some of the more appealing midfield options though are already off the table following the three driver moves announced in May.
“There were a few surprises, the big one was Sebastian [Vettel leaving Ferrari] and then there were choices made that I would have probably made different, but I understand and it’s been fun to watch,” he told ESPN.
“Obviously, Carlos [Sainz] going to Ferrari and then there was a good seat at McLaren and that was a nice opportunity for [Daniel] Ricciardo and still one seat at Renault that could be attractive for the future.
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“But again, with the cost cap, we are hoping that more teams could be great and I think Racing Point is on a really good path from what we saw in winter testing, they are really competitive and have done great work with Mercedes, so there will be some good teams to look for in the future,” Grosjean noted.
“The driver market has been interesting, there are a few seats left around but I think everyone will take a little bit of time to look at it.”
As for Renault, names like Fernando Alonso have been linked to the seat alongside Esteban Ocon, while junior drivers Guanyu Zhou and Christian Lundgaard also sense an opportunity.
Grosjean though has his own history with the team, debuting in F1 in 2009 and returning when it was rebranded as Lotus in 2012.
“It would be a nice story. I spent 10 years at Enstone and they funded most of my career, and obviously the last podium of Enstone is mine!” he said.
“I think it would be nice to go back there, but it would also be nice to stay at Haas or to try another team. We haven’t even done a race, but we are already talking about next year, which is a bit strange.
“But also we are getting into mid-June and early July which is the start of the silly season, so I don’t know, I think first we go back racing, see how the car behaves.
“I will try to do my best and see if my level is still where I want it to be and then we will start discussing and chatting and seeing what we can do.”