Formula One’s halo system is credited with helping save Grosjean’s life. IndyCar has taken the halo and gone one step further with its aeroscreen cockpit safety device that includes a shatterproof clear plexiglass over a halo-like structure.
“The halo and aeroscreen are now part of the motorsports in general,” Grosjean said. “The aeroscreen is a step behind I think absolutely even because the speed is higher, it makes more sense. But I think it’s a great invention generally. I need to test it to see if there are any things that you need to adapt in terms of visibility. From what I believe, no.
“Obviously, it has saved my life. I’m sure it’s going to save some more in the future. It’s not unknown that I was against the halo being brought to motorsport. But in French we say only idiots don’t change their mind. I did change my mind. I wouldn’t race a car with no halo or aeroscreen on it.”
Grosjean will be teammates with Ed Jones, who will drive the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser and Sullivan in every race in the 2021 IndyCar Series season.
“Look at his résumé. He’s bringing a lot,” team co-owner Dale Coyne said. “Formula One is such a challenging world to judge a driver because it’s by team. But if you look at what he did, we’re impressed what he did before he got to Formula One. He won the GP2 series by 35 points. It was a year that I think nine drivers in that series made it onto Formula One. It wasn’t a light year. He won six junior categories before that. He’s a winner.
“Formula One, it’s difficult to be a winner unless you’re with the top two or three teams. So, we’re going to get him over here with the fourth best team and show that he can still be a winner. We’re looking forward to having him with us. Our French engineer, Olivier Boisson, will be his head engineer. I think they were together over the holidays at Christmas over in Switzerland.
“I just think it’s a good feeling all around. We’re going to create a good environment for him. We’re happy to have Rick Ware with us this year. He got a taste of it at Indy last year. Once you get a taste of that place, you want to keep coming back.
“We look forward to a strong year with Romain and with Ed Jones.”
Team co-owner Rick Ware also indicated that NASCAR driver Cody Ware, who recently competed in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, will make a few IndyCar Series starts in 2021.
“I grew up with a road racing background initially,” Rick Ware said. “We’re kind of knee deep into NASCAR. But I follow road racing, love road racing. Anybody that’s in motorsports, obviously, I believe follows Formula One to a huge extent.
“We had some opportunities for sponsors to expand a little bit last year, from an owner’s standpoint I’ve never been to Indianapolis. Who could not want to be part of that? When James Davidson came onboard, we started talking. The racer in me wanted to try to figure out a way to do it. Talked to several people and had nothing but great stories about Dale, working with him.
“When I got to meet Dale, I felt like we kind of hit it off as far as he’s a journeyman driver into a team owner. Kind of the same with us. This is our 30th year in motorsports. This is all we do for a living. We live and breathe it.”