Recent Andretti Autosport (now Andretti Global) driver Romain Grosjean is pursuing arbitration with his former employers after a contentious two-year relationship met its end in September.
In a statement released by the Swiss-born Frenchman on social media, he said, “I enjoyed working with the IndyCar team at Andretti Autosport and am proud of the successes we shared through two seasons. I am thankful for the many friendships developed at the highest level of American open-wheel racing. I had expected to continue racing with the fine people of Andretti Autosport in the coming years.
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“I am disappointed that is not being fulfilled, and wish Andretti team members well. I am pursuing other options to continue my IndyCar career in pursuit of excellence. I have commenced an arbitration proceeding in Indiana against Andretti Autosport, seeking to protect my rights.”
Speaking with RACER, Grosjean declined to discuss the specifics of what he is seeking from the team owned by Michael Andretti, but did say, “I love the IndyCar fans and I’m looking forward to my next challenge in the series.”
After making his IndyCar debut with Dale Coyne Racing in 2021, Grosjean signed a two-year contract with Andretti, which reached its conclusion after the season finale in Monterey. Months prior in April, after a strong start to the 2023 championship in the No. 28 Andretti Honda was recorded, the driver and owner were on track to sign an extension that would keep Grosjean in the car for 2024 and beyond.
LIMITED STATEMENT OF ROMAIN GROSJEAN REGARDING ARBITRATION pic.twitter.com/BUkCwzZCPd
— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) October 4, 2023
Multiple sources have told RACER the issues that have led Grosjean to pursue some form of compensation from Andretti through arbitration stem from the execution of a contract extension that was presented to him, signed, and returned by the former Formula 1 driver, but was not countersigned by the team. The initial expression of interest in the presentation of an extension, which allegedly went unsigned, is believed to be the bone of contention for Grosjean, who has not been retained to drive for the team.
RACER understands that after coming off a pair of podiums in the No. 28 entry, the goodwill that led to starting the contract extension process hit a rough patch after Grosjean crashed at the Indianapolis 500, crashed at the next race in Detroit, and had a trouble-filled run to 25th-place at Road America, which is said to have caused the Andretti team to take a wait-and-see approach on moving forward with finalizing the new contract.
Although their fortunes improved on occasion during the final nine races, during which Grosjean produced a best finish of sixth at Nashville, the relationship between the driver and team appeared to deteriorate — sometimes during NBC broadcasts – and no news was forthcoming on the extension.
On a similar timeline near the end of the season, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson was signed by Andretti Global, and while the team has not announced which entry number he will drive, the 2022 Indy 500 winner is known to have Grosjean’s former race engineer Olivier Boisson assigned to his car.