After his terrifying crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix last week and the subsequent burns to his hands, Romain Grosjean and Haas confirmed today that the French driver will not be taking part in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next weekend. 

Grosjean has had a very eventual career in Formula 1. He started 179 races, scoring 10 podiums; all of those rostrum appearances came with Lotus. His last one was at the Belgian Grand Prix in 2015. The Frenchman’s best result in the championship was P7 in 2013. 

In a statement from Haas and a message from Grosjean on Twitter, he confirmed that he would be unable to take part in the final race of the 2020 season and his last one with Haas. His time in F1 looks to be over, too.  

“It is with great sadness that I will not be able to do my final race in Abu Dhabi and be with the team there,” said Grosjean. “We’ve tried as much as we could with the doctor to recover and to repair my hand, but the risk of racing is too big for my recovery and my health. So, the decision was made that I’m not going to race. It’s one of the hardest decisions of my life, but it’s obviously one of the wisest. I will miss the team, but I will be supporting them as ever.” 

Update for you ❤#r8g pic.twitter.com/dBLE7ZSzcA

— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) December 6, 2020

Guenther Steiner says he’s grateful to Grosjean for believing in the Haas project before they’d even built their first car when they joined for the 2016 season. The Frenchman started 98 races for Haas, with a best result of 4th at the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix.  

“I’m naturally very sorry that Romain will miss what was going to be his final race with Haas F1 Team,” Steiner said. “But we are all in agreement that he has to take the best course of action regarding his treatment and recovery from last Sunday’s incident. Romain has shown exceptional bravery and amazing spirit over the last few days – we know how badly he wanted to be able to return to the cockpit of the VF-20 in Abu Dhabi. And we all would have loved him to have been there too.”  

“Romain believed in our Formula 1 project at the very start, he committed to drive for us before we’d even built a car,’' added Steiner. ‘’There is no doubting the determination and sheer effort he has put into helping us to achieve what we have as a young team in Formula 1. We will forever be grateful for that belief and commitment. It is those qualities, his drive and ambition, that I’m sure will aid him on his recovery. On behalf of Gene Haas and myself, together with the whole Haas F1 Team operation, we wish Romain well and a return to full health.” 

❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/qCNPnmiiC5

— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) December 6, 2020