Grosjean delighted with third despite missing chance to win - MotorSportsTalk

Romain Grosjean is delighted to have finished third in today’s Japanese Grand Prix despite leading the majority of the race at Suzuka and only losing out to the Red Bull duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber after his final pit stop.

The Lotus driver appeared to be on the cusp of becoming the first French driver to win a grand prix since Olivier Panis’ victory at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix. However, by going longer on his second stint, Vettel was able to use his fresher tires to catch Grosjean with twelve laps to go. Three-stopping Mark Webber was also able to find a way past late on, but Grosjean is pleased to have finished on the podium.

“Today was just a very, very good race,” Grosjean said. “What a start! It was superb to go past both the Red Bulls like that and it’ll be one of my best memories of the year.”

Grosjean made a fantastic getaway off the line, jumping up from fourth to first as he passed Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber to seize the lead of the race. He is proud that he was the only driver to come close to the Red Bull duo in Japan, with fourth-placed Fernando Alonso finished over thirty seconds behind the Lotus.

“The car was fantastic on the first set of tyres and we managed to pull away, but then the Red Bulls were able to reel us in later on. Ultimately, we were the only car to almost catch the ‘bull’. It’s been a great home race for my engineer; it’s always good to come to Japan and it’s really good to be back on the podium again.”

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Ryan Hunter-Reay was named to replace Conor Daly in Ed Carpenter Racing’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet, starting in the NTT IndyCar Series event next week at Road America.

Hunter-Reay is the 2012 series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. He finished 11th for Dreyer & Reinbold last month in the 107th Indy 500, his first start since the 2021 season finale. He drove full time for Andretti Autosport from 2010-21.

“We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader. I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team,” team owner Ed Carpenter said in a team release. “We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on the pole following that test. I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team.”

Hunter-Reay has 18 IndyCar victories, most recently in 2018. He also is a winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, having been a part of winning entries in the 2020 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 2018 Petit Le Mans. Last year, he was an endurance driver for Cadillac Racing while being on standby for Chip Ganassi Racing.

He replaces Daly, whose departure was announced a day earlier in what the driver and team said was a mutual decision.

“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed,” Hunter-Reay said in a team release. “He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realize its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help. Ed and I are very close friends and have been for a long time. I’ve worked with the team in the past and they are a very talented group with high expectations and a committed partner in BITNILE.COM.

“This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It’s a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world. Certainly, part of my motivation in saying ‘yes’ to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an NTT IndyCar Series car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber. However, I remain very confident in both my driving and technical abilities and believe by working with the talented people at ECR and Team Chevy, while representing BITNILE.COM, we will make progress. I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives.”

Said Milton “Todd” Ault, the chairman of sponsor BitNile.com: “It is great for BitNile.com to be aligned with an Indy 500 Winner and an NTT IndyCar Series champion. I have followed Ryan’s career for years and I am confident he will challenge the entire ECR team to perform at higher levels. I wish everyone luck at Road America.”