Romain Grosjean felt he was “on the ramp” to becoming a Formula 1 champion after an impressive season in 2013.
After being labelled a “first-lap nutcase” by Mark Webber after a spate of accidents in 2012, the Frenchman began to show promise the following year, arguably being Red Bull’s closest challenger in the second half of 2013, when Sebastian Vettel reeled off 10 wins in 11 races.
During that same period, Grosjean had five podiums, half his final career total. But that would be as close as he ever got to the front.
“Actually, I’m not that frustrated about it,” he told The Race on failing to win an F1 race during his career.
“Every time I had the chance, I took it. An alternator has stopped me [in Valencia in 2012], the Safety Car in Germany and the strategy in 2013.
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“If there’s one regret, it’s that Lotus went badly south in 2014. I didn’t get a proper opportunity in a top team at that time.
“In 2013, I showed I was on the ramp to become champion, or at least win races and be a contender. Kimi Raikkonen was taken to Ferrari and struggled a bit, but I didn’t really get much after that point.
“When you miss the train, it’s very hard to jump back on because then you start at the back of the grid and people are less interested.”
A final podium with Lotus at Spa in 2015 would follow before Grosjean took the gamble of joining the all-new Haas team in 2016.
But despite an impressive first few years, his time at the team was better known for more errors.
“I haven’t done everything perfectly, but if I had a good car, I would have won races and maybe the championship,” Grosjean maintained.
“I still think I’m one of the fastest out there, but it’s difficult to show anything with the car we had. Even when you do a good race, you’re P12, 13, 14 and people won’t say you’ve done a good race because they can’t see it.
“I’ve never felt as natural as you can be in a car over the last few years, just because the design has got a weak front end. I can go fast, I can adapt myself, but it’s never going to unlock the magic that sometimes you can unlock.”
Grosjean’s F1 career then came to a dramatic early end last November in Bahrain, as he miraculously escaped a fiery crash on the opening lap which saw the cockpit cell wedged in the barrier.
Romain emerged with only burns to his hands, from which he continues to fully recover, and this year will return to racing in IndyCar albeit opting out of the oval races.
“No. No regrets at all,” he told Ouest-France.fr on not getting a proper farewell race
“No regrets because the final decision not to go to Abu Dhabi was mine. Just before I went to see the doctor, to see if I could race, I realised I couldn’t race.
“I had made my decision, he only confirmed what I felt. Once you make your own decision, you digest it more easily.”
This week, Haas chief Guenther Steiner didn’t rule out calling on Grosjean or ex-teammate Kevin Magnussen in a third driver role, but the 34-year-old appears to have little interest.
“From a driver’s point of view, I think it’s over,” he said of his F1 career.
“I don’t want to come back just to come back. It doesn’t interest me. And then, when you look at the grid, the good seats are all taken. There’s little interest in coming back.
“I do keep a small role nevertheless in the F1 Drivers’ Association (GPDA),” he noted. “I will continue to take part in the meetings. It’s something that’s really close to my heart.”