Grosjean more relaxed about F1 future than 12 months ago

Romain Grosjean says he is more relaxed about his future in Formula 1 than he was 12 months ago, believing there are fewer reasons for him to fear he may lose his place on the grid.

A difficult start to the season for Haas has left the team sitting ninth in the constructors' championship, with ongoing struggles in understanding the VF-19 prompting Grosjean to revert to his Australia-spec car in recent races, leading to a slight upturn in form.

Questions have been raised about Grosjean's future with the team after a number of run-ins with teammate Kevin Magnussen through the 2019 campaign, forcing team boss Günther Steiner to enforce stricter team orders between the pair from Hungary onwards.

Asked if he held any concerns about his future with Haas, Grosjean said he felt there were more reasons to be worried last year when he failed to score any points through the opening eight races.

"I was more worried last year than this year. Last year there were a lot of reasons that I could have ended up this year at home, and I did many mistakes that I shouldn’t have done with my experience," Grosjean said.

"But I think since then, I have recovered pretty well. I think everything we have been saying this year – the eye-opener for the guys on reverting to the old-spec car, because I asked, shows that the experience is very important in Formula 1.

"Everything in the team has now changed. The focus is on the different parts and how we make sure we improve the car other than we just put upgrades without really knowing where we are.

"The races, I’m happy with my performance. I think in qualifying I could have been better earlier in the year but now it’s back to where it was.

"As I said, last year there were many reasons, to be frank, to stay home. This year I guess there are many less."

Haas is set to make a decision on its driver line-up after the F1 summer break. Magnussen is widely expected to continue with the team, which holds an option on his services for 2020, while Grosjean is out of contract for next year at present.