Washington (AFP)

French driver Romain Grosjean made his first training session on Tuesday at the Indycar circuit, where he will compete in the championship in 2021, less than three months after his appalling accident in Bahrain marking the end of his Formula 1 career.

"I felt right at home," he said at a virtual press conference, after testing the circuit at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, where the season kicks off on the 18th. April.

"I had no apprehension, I just wanted to drive," added the Franco-Swiss driver, 34, who signed a contract with Dale Coyne Racing in Indycar.

“The first few laps, my muscles weren't very warm up, but it got better towards the end, which is a good sign,” he said.

His tests were mainly marked by a spin from the first turn, with an exit from the track.

He explained that a heel-toe (accelerating while braking during downshifting) had destabilized the car, "whereas in Formula 1, that would stabilize it".

"It was an instructive experience, after that I didn't do it again and it was better", he simply commented, these first tests allowing him precisely to acclimatize to his car, but also to driving. in IndyCar in general.

He thus underlined the better mechanical grip and the lower power in IndyCar compared to Formula 1, even if the driving comfort was very good, according to him.

- 28 seconds -

Wearing during his tests a helmet designed by his three children, which he will wear again during the first race of the season, Romain Grosjean revealed that he had spoken to them a lot lately, declaring that they are "happy" for him. let him resume competition.

On November 29, they saw their father survive a spectacular accident by managing to get out of his burning F1 28 seconds after it crashed into a safety barrier at 220 km / h and was cut off by of them.

"I saw death too closely," he told AFP at the time, both hands burned (the left more seriously), a sprained left ankle and bruises on this side of the body.

He said he still had a blister on the palm of his left hand that he did not "really feel in the car".

We will find the Frenchman racing on April 18 for the start of the season at the Alabama Grand Prix.

It will not compete in the oval races, including the Indianapolis 500, the most prestigious event in the series.

Grosjean joins two other "Frenchies" in the United States, Sébastien Bourdais, four times ChampCar champion, the series that preceded the IndyCar (from 2004 to 2007), and Simon Pagenaud, crowned in IndyCar in 2016 and winner in 2019 of the 500 Miles from Indianapolis.

© 2021 AFP