"It's a mind-f*cker": Romain Grosjean on the nerve-wracking nature of the Indy 500
PREMA Racing driver Romain Grosjean came out and spoke about the terrifying nature of the Indy 500, with the 109th running of the greatest spectacle in racing about a month away. The PREMA star will not participate in the iconic event, but his teammates Robert Shwartzman and Callum Ilott will.
Romain Grosjean, who raced for Juncos Hollinger Racing in 2024, was let go by the team as they signed Conor Daly and Sting Ray Robb for the 2025 season. Grosjean was then announced as the reserve driver for the newest team on the IndyCar grid earlier this year in January.
Robert Shwartzman made his IndyCar debut at the St. Pete race earlier this year. The 2025 Indy 500 will be his first running at the iconic oval race. Grosjean was featured on the Race IndyCar podcast and asked to give Shwartzman advice before his Indy 500 debut.
Romain Grosjean suggested that there is nothing that can really prepare a driver for the Indy 500, as he said:
“I think there's nothing that will prepare you for the 500. I think that it's a very mentally tiring month and the track may be the easiest in the world when the car is good. When you want it, it's very easy, but I was told that it’s a mind fucker. It makes you think of things that you should not even think about. It's kind of weird.” (31:33 onwards)
“The wind, the track temperature, the drift, the cars and everything, but also keeping it simple and reminding that it's just an oval. But there's so much at stake that it's for everyone who gets your head turned,” he added
Romain Grosjean made his Indy 500 debut in 2022 with Andretti Global and qualified P9, which ended up being his best qualifying result at the greatest spectacle in racing. The French driver retired from the race in 2022 and 2023, and finished P19 in 2024 after starting P26.
Callum Ilott detailed Romain Grosjean's role at PREMA Racing
Romain Grosjean was announced as a reserve driver at PREMA Racing's livery launch, which came as a shock to many. Contrary to F1, it's uncommon to have a reserve driver in the American open-wheel racing series. Callum Ilott on the Pit Pass Indy podcast was questioned about Grosjean's role, to which he replied:
“Obviously, it's a very tough series on the driver's side. It's hard to stay in the loop, and I think that's important. You know I struggled a bit last year being out of the loop. Hopefully, that can add to it and Romain's a good guy, super fast, he knows his stuff, and I think, when he's there, he's gonna be helping us as well.”
PREMA had a tough start to the IndyCar series qualifying outside the Top 20. However, it's their debut season, and the team is still finding its feet within the series.