'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Romain Grosjean has confirmed that offers to test a Mercedes Formula 1 car are at an advanced stage. In discussion with fans on social media, the recently retired F1 driver stated that Toto Wolff had made him "an offer he couldn’t refuse."
“Yes, yes he has. I’ve had a phone call with them and we are finalizing the plan,” said Grosjean on his Twitch account when quizzed if Wolff had been in touch. Romain has become a popular streamer in recent months.
“I think it’s going to be mega.”
The enigmatic Mercedes boss had previously said the team would give Grosjean a test if “nobody else within his universe of teams that he raced would provide him with such an opportunity.” Grosjean drove a Mercedes-powered Formula 1 car in 2015, scoring his final F1 podium in a Lotus-Mercedes at Spa the same year.
Haas have declined to host a last hoorah for the much maligned Frenchman, indicating they will not be able to run a car for him to test as they do not have access to a suitable power unit.
Grosjean looks to future after horror crash
The terrifying crash in the Bahrain Grand Prix last year saw his final F1 season quite literally go up in flames.
Grosjean suffered burns to his hands as he escaped from the fireball, rendering him unable to participate in the Sakhir and Abu Dhabi rounds, which would have been his last two appearances in F1 for Haas.
In the days after his crash, Grosjean optimistically outlined his plans for the future if he didn’t recover in time for Yas Marina. “I’ll have plenty of other opportunities in the future,” he said. “I’ll have a super licence in 2021 and we have seen (that) no one is safe from COVID-19."
“Or I will call every single Formula 1 team and see if anyone would offer me a private test in January or so, to jump back in the car and have 10 or 15 laps (to) myself.”
It was at this point that Wolff extended an invitation to the newly announced Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing IndyCar driver.
“I am still very keen on jumping in the Mercedes F1, for sure," gushed Grosjean.
"It is an offer that you cannot refuse, just for me to have an understanding and taste of that car and how it is working.
"At the minute, I think they are absolutely flat out in building the new car for the season and understanding when it will start and how it is going to go, so I won’t phone Toto right now."
"But he can expect to get a phone call eventually with me asking to have a go at it.
"It could be absolutely beautiful. But also, right now, I am going to the US in 15 days and I am going to spend some time there and learn about IndyCar.
"I just want to get the full IndyCar programme going before looking at other things.”
"The offer really touched me, in a good way. I was really surprised and (it's) a natural way of going for it and obviously, I would love to do it.”
