DECEMBER 5, 2020

No doctor clearance for Grosjean yet

Romain Grosjean still isn't sure if he will be able to round out his Formula 1 career next weekend in Abu Dhabi - and therefore has a 'plan B' up his sleeve.

Romain Grosjean still isn't sure if he will be able to round out his Formula 1 career next weekend in Abu Dhabi - and therefore has a 'plan B' up his sleeve.

Although sitting out this weekend's race, the Frenchman returned to the Bahrain paddock on Thursday along with his wife Marion, while wearing a medical boot for his sprained ankle and with heavily bandaged hands.

He wants to return to the cockpit of his Haas for the Abu Dhabi finale next weekend, but admits that he doesn't yet have the clearance of the doctors.

"I won't take the risk of losing the mobility of my left index finger and thumb for the rest of my life just to race in Abu Dhabi," he told L'Equipe on Friday.

"Doctors are saying at the moment that it's unclear whether I'll be fit.

"The right hand will be 100 percent ready, and the strength and mobility of the left hand is improving day by day. But there is still swelling due to the inflammation and this swelling needs to be reduced," Grosjean added.

"It's been quite a bit of pain for the past two days," he said, "but fortunately I am quite resistant to the pain.

"I broke my right hand earlier this year when I fell in my kitchen. I didn't tell anyone, but it was an open fracture. I put two bones back on my own and went to the hospital. So I am resistant to some pain," he said.

"It would be nice to be able to finish in Formula 1 in Abu Dhabi, but if I don't, I'll call every F1 team to see if someone will give me a private test in January just to get back in a car and do 10 or 15 laps," Grosjean revealed.

"Just for me. Then I will have a super licence in 2021, and we have seen that no one is safe from catching covid-19."

(GMM)