16:00 on Wednesday 9 June 2010: Free Practice 1 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. All eyes are on the Audi/Peugeot showdown. At the wheel of the #60 Ford GT GT1: Romain Grosjean. “I remember it well: the atmosphere, the enthusiasm. Unfortunately, we broke the engine and had to withdraw. I always said I‘d be back one day, to compete for outright victory. It’s taken me 14 years, but here I am! If you’d told me when I started out that one day I would be able to say I’d raced the Grand Prix de Monaco, the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the top class, I’m not sure I’d have believed you.”

Le Mans, and new beginnings

Fourteen years is a long time and the driver is a different man today. After the 2010 Le Mans, Grosjean became a pillar of Haas F1 Team until his horrific accident at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. Winning is no longer the only thing that counts. His approach to racing is noticeably different, and he was one of the first drivers selected by Lamborghini in late 2022. Now based in Miami, he is delighted to contribute to the Italian manufacturer's 24 Hours of Le Mans entry. Le Mans, the race that offered respite after his 2009 F1 disappointment.

He did think about giving it all up to become a chef, but the urge to race was too great. “Martin Bartek gave me a great opportunity back in 2010. And also let me go when I wanted to switch to GP2. Things went pretty well for me after that. I raced single seaters for over 10 years (including 9 consecutive seasons in Formula One, from 2012 to 2020)." Grosjean is proud to be driving for Lamborghini and delighted to be back among French fans. "Since I’ve been in the States I haven’t really had chance to race in Europe. I haven’t been surrounded by so many people since the accident in Bahrain. It’s great to meet the fans. I must admit my 2024 diary is full. There are 31 race weekends in all. I’ve got plenty on, but life is good. I’m not complaining!"

More experience, less mileage

Grosjean is going to need to draw on his experience to get to grips with the car and the circuit in record time. He was not at Test Day and only signed with the team in March, so he has very little mileage in the Lamborghini Hypercar.

He is not fazed by the change of environment. In 2010 he rose to several challenges: snow racing in the winter of 2009-10, switching to Auto GP and taking the title, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, followed by the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. This year is just as varied: driving the DW12 in Indycar, the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 (which he drove at the 24 Hours of Daytona), and the SC63. "I enjoy driving different cars. I like IndyCar and the Lamborghini programme complements it well. It’s a new project, with a great team. We’re really motivated."

The SC63, like the other newcomers to the Hypercar field – the Alpine A424, the BMW M Hybrid V8 and the Tipo 6 LMH-C – is attracting admiring looks. But how is it on track? “It’s a great mix between a GT and a single-seater. From a mechanical point of view it handles like a single-seater, but there’s less downforce than on an F1 car."

Technically and technologically, the environment is different to Formula One. “You can do so much with the car. It’s brilliant. In F1 the tendency is to outlaw differences. There’s more freedom here. Between traction control, brake distribution and hybrid input, there’s a lot to consider. There are endless opportunities to work with the engineers. It’s not easy to strike the right balance with the settings because the car is quite heavy and yet has a lot of downforce. So we try different things. We learn lap by lap."

The 2024 race is a milestone, a stage in Lamborghini’s grand scheme, the goal of which is the trophy. “This year I’ll concentrate on learning a lot in a short time. I’m a bit like a rookie in that I don’t know the car well and haven’t driven it much. But given my achievements since 2010, I don’t really consider myself a novice." Welcome back to Le Mans, Romain Grosjean.