Every driver has built up a supply of tools and tricks in their respective arsenal, but Romain Grosjean has one that is subtly unique.
The 38-year-old Swiss-born Frenchman has utilised the button on the steering wheel that provides him a drink – even when one isn’t applicable in the car – as part of a data point for areas to address during debriefs.
Team members of Juncos Hollinger Racing (JHR) shared with Autosport their learning of Grosjean’s approach during offseason testing, when they noticed he continued to hit the button despite not having a drink in the car.
It was only then they learned he uses it to dissect corners of each lap, in an effort to give more detailed feedback to the engineers for enhanced set-ups.
This approach has helped Grosjean score five top-10s, including recording JHR’s best-ever result of fourth at Laguna Seca, through the 12 points-paying rounds. He also has two Fast Six appearances with the team, qualifying a best of fifth each time (St. Petersburg, Toronto).
Grosjean told Autosport: “The drink button, when there’s no drink, it’s a mark on the data, so it’s easy for the engineer to find.
“You know when doing the debrief – you’re like, ‘Maybe it was Turn 3 on lap four…’ and instead of trying to remember which number or which corner it was, let’s press the green button.
“Then you have a mark on the data, and then when you just open up the group data and you see where the mark is on, I know what happened.
“Then you can talk about it, instead of trying to remember where it was. Just press the button, it’s there.
“I have a small brain, I guess, so this could make it easy!”
Grosjean doesn't remember the origins of his simple concept, but knows it started in the early days of his Formula 1 career, which spanned 179 starts between 2009 and 2020.
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“We had the button, or maybe it was the acknowledge button for pitting, in Formula 1,” the five-time IndyCar runner-up said.
“You don’t necessarily have to respond if you had the acknowledge button. So, I think I kind of translated that into, ‘Okay, I can use the button to signal something.’”
When asked if it was a common practice with drivers in F1, Grosjean stated: “It depends on what team, but no, I don’t think so. I just try to make my life as easy as I can.”
Grosjean added that he would be flattered by any current or prospective drivers that adopt this method: “If I get noticed in something, I’ll take it.
“That’s a good thing with IndyCar, I think, we’re out there trying hard to be the best driver and it’s not like we are hiding things from the others, so I don’t mind.
“I’ve been doing this for 20-plus years and, of course, you learn every year.
“That’s the beauty of sport, is you can be old without being old. I don’t think you lose your capacity, but you gain more and more experience.”
