Romain Grosjean gives honest update on 2026 IndyCar return

Former Juncos Hollinger Racing driver Romain Grosjean drove in the IndyCar series after leaving F1 following his fireball crash at the Bahrain GP. The Frenchman lost his IndyCar driver at the end of the 2024 season and signed as the reserve for PREMA Racing. Grosjean recently came out and gave an update on his IndyCar return for the 2026 season.

Romain Grosjean raced for Andretti Global for a couple of years before joining Juncos Hollinger Racing for the 2024 season. However, JHR decided against extending the Frenchman’s services for the 2025 season, signing Conor Daly and Sting Ray Robb.

The newest IndyCar team, PREMA Racing, made its IndyCar debut in 2025. While Robert Shwartzman and Callum Ilott were signed as the driver lineup, the Italian team announced Romain Grosjean as their test and reserve driver.

Along with the IndyCar reserve role, the former F1 driver also signed with Lamborghini to race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The IMSA teams arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the latest round.

Motorsports insider David Land was at the IMS for the event and caught up with Grosjean. Land first questioned the Frenchman about the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and followed it up by detailing how the PREMA reserve has been linked with full-time IndyCar seats for 2026.

Giving an update about the 2026 IndyCar return, the Frenchman said,

“My name is being circulated, just that my name is being circulated, which is better than being not circulated. Nothing that I can share right now but there's no doubt that I want to be back in IndyCar, that I would like to do a full season. I'm going to be 40 next year but you know the feeling always comes back. So coming back at 40 would be great.” (14:40 onwards)

---

“We need money”: Romain Grosjean details team's demand amid the possibility of 2026 IndyCar return

While Romain Grosjean did well during his only year at JHR, the team wanted sponsors for both cars for the 2025 season. Both Sting Ray Robb and Conor Daly brought sponsors, although Daly had issues with his sponsor, Polkadot. Speaking about the team's demands for a sponsor, he said,

“I miss racing IndyCar. There's no doubt about it. I'd like to do more. When I speak to some teams, they say, ‘We need money.’ And I say, ‘Yeah, I'm sorry, that's my job, and when I do my job, I get paid.’” “My value is on track. My value is to get a team where it should be. I am not good at bringing sponsors. I'm not good at finding sponsors. But I'm good at taking a race car and a team and putting it where it belongs. So I'm hoping that someone's going to realize that and give me a chance to come back,” he added

The Frenchman is currently racing for Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse in the GTP category in IMSA, driving the Lamborghini SC63.

Edited by Pranay Bhagi