Nelsinho Piquet officially replaced by Romain Grosjean

Posted by Harvinder

August 18, 2009

The Renault Formula 1 team, which will race at this weekend’s European Grand Prix has announced that Romain Grosjean has taken over Nelsinho Piquet’s position as the team’s second driver, and will race alongside 2 times World Champion Fernando Alonso in Valencia. Grosjean, from France, was the reserve of the team and was racing in the GP2 series (with the Barwa Addax Team, run by Adrian Campos, who will head a new Formula 1 next year).

“I am very proud that the Renault F1 Team has given me the chance to become a race driver. I’m looking forward to driving the R29 and helping the team get the best results possible. It’s also an honour to be Fernando’s team-mate and to make my Formula One debut alongside a double World Champion is especially motivating,” said the 23 year old. Grosjean has been involved in Renault’s Driver Development (RDD) programme for the past five years. He replaces Piquet, who failed to score a single point this year, compared to Alonso’s 13.