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 utilized 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 Motorsport.com 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 setups.
This approach has helped Grosjean score five top-10s, including recording JHR’s best-ever result of fourth in June 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 Motorsport.com: “The drink button, when there’s no drink, it’s a mark on the data, so it’s easy for the engineer to find out because you know when do the debrief and you do runs – you’re like, ‘Maybe it was Turn 3 on lap 4 or…’ 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 and then you can talk about it instead of trying to remember where it was and which it was on whatsoever and just press the button, it’s there.
“I have a small brain, I guess, so this could make it easy!”
Romain Grosjean, Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
Photo by: Geoffrey M. Miller / Motorsport Images
As far as the origin of Grosjean’s brilliant yet simple concept, he doesn’t remember exactly when but knows it started in the early days of his Formula 1 career.
“We had the button, or maybe it was the acknowledge button for pitting, in Formula 1,” said Grosjean, a five-time runner-up in IndyCar.
“When they called ‘pit’ so 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.’”
A veteran of 179 F1 starts, Grosjean converted that trait in his transition to the IndyCar Series in 2021, where he debuted with Dale Coyne Racing in a partial campaign prior to two full-time campaigns with Andretti Global.
When asked if it was a common practice with drivers in Europe, Grosjean paused and then 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.”
Romain Grosjean, Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
And Grosjean will 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.”
Upon showcasing the button hack to JHR, though, he could see them implementing that as a resource for years to come.
“I just used my experience and they took it onboard and they thought it was a pretty cool idea,” Grosjean said. “So, I guess they’re going to use it in the future.
“But yeah, you know, 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.”