Romain Grosjean will drive for Andretti Autosport during the 2022 season with DHL sponsorship on the No. 28 Dallara-Honda, the team announced Friday
It’ll be the 12th consecutive season for Andretti and DHL, which had been the full sponsor for Ryan Hunter-Reay since his 2012 championship season. Hunter-Reay will be leaving Andretti after the 2021 season, pairing Grosjean with returning drivers Colton Herta and Alexander Rossi.
During a news conference Friday afternoon, team owner Michael Andretti said Grosjean’s deal was for two years. Andretti, which also has fielded James Hinchcliffe full time in 2021, has yet to confirm its fourth driver for 2022.
Olivier Boisson, who has been Grosjean’s engineer at Dale Coyne Racing this season, will follow the driver (and fellow Frenchman) to the Andretti team. Grosjean also said his family will live in the Miami area, where his three children will be able to attend a French-speaking school and his family will have access to direct flights to Paris.
DHL will be a primary sponsor for Grosjean in the No. 28 for all but six races next season.
In his rookie IndyCar season since leaving Formula One, Grosjean has recorded a pole position and three podium finishes (most recently at Laguna Seca Raceway last Sunday).
In moving to a full-time schedule next year after focusing nearly exclusively on road and street courses this season, Grosjean, 35, will be making his Indianapolis 500 debut. He will test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval for the first time Oct. 8.
“We are thrilled to welcome Romain to the Andretti Autosport family,” team owner Michael Andretti said in a release. “He already had an impressive resume before coming to INDYCAR and watching what he’s been able to do in his rookie season here has been exciting to say the least. His vast motorsport experience will be beneficial to the team alongside our already strong 2022 driver lineup. We also couldn’t be more excited to continue our strong partnership with DHL. The DHL sponsorship is one of the longest and most successful in the paddock and we look forward to continued success on and off the track.”
“We couldn’t be happier to continue our successful partnership with Andretti Autosport, which has provided us with one of our most powerful avenues for connecting people to our global brand,” Mike Parra, CEO of DHL Express Americas, said in a release. “The legendary Andretti organization is run by a winning team whose members we have long considered part of our DHL family, and now we are excited to also welcome their newest driver, Romain Grosjean, to our family. We are thrilled to have such a highly regarded international competitor taking the wheel to represent DHL, and we look forward to a fruitful partnership with Romain and the entire Andretti team, both on and off the track.”
Grosjean finished a career-best second in both races this season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, starting from the pole position for the first time in the May 15 race.
“I’m delighted to be joining Andretti Autosport and driving the No. 28 DHL Honda for next season,” Grosjean said in a release. “It’s a big honor to be joining such a great team as Andretti, anyone in the motorsport world knows the name Andretti. I’m super happy and proud to be racing with the team. I’m also very proud to be representing with DHL. I’ve known the DHL color on racing cars for a very long time. I couldn’t be more proud to represent such a great company in INDYCAR. I’m hoping that we are going to be very successful together, which is our aim on every side. I would like also to thank Dale Coyne Racing for giving me the opportunity to join INDYCAR. I’ve enjoyed the racing so much and it’s given me the change today to be racing with one of the most competitive and best teams in the world.”