Geneva born Romain Grosjean, who holds joint Swiss and French nationalities, races under the French flag and by his own admission started his career in motorsport at a relatively late age of 14.

From karting, Grosjean worked his way up the motorsports ladder and in 2006 competed in the F3 Euroseries, taking the championship the following year ahead of Sebastien Buemi.

For 2008, Grosjean stepped up to the GP2 Asia and the main GP2 category. He dominated the Asian championship to take the title but his main season was less successful.

Combining his GP2 activities with Renault F1 testing duties, Grosjean remained with ART Grand Prix and despite wins and plenty of pace, small errors consigned him to fourth overall in the championship.

With Renault's blessing, Grosjean is expected to remain in GP2 in 2009 and continue to test - when possible - for the Anglo-French team.