Former Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean will make a return to top-level motorsports in 2024 when he hops behind the wheel of Lamborghini’s new LMDh race car.
Grosjean, who raced for Renault, Lotus, and Haas during his time in F1, was named on Tuesday as a driver for Lamborghini Iron Lynx, the factory-backed team that will enter both the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2024 with Lamborghini’s new LMDh race car.
Previously confirmed drivers include Andrea Caldarelli and Mirko Bortolotti, both of them existing Lamborghini factory drivers.
Grosjean, after leaving F1 at the end of 2020, partially due to an injury sustained in a crash in that year’s Bahrain Grand Prix, has spent most of his time in IndyCar. He will now join Lamborghini Iron Lynx in 2023 to help develop the LMDh, while also competing in some GT races driving a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 fielded by Iron Lynx.
Romain Grosjean
“It’s an honor to be joining Lamborghini, it’s such an iconic brand for everyone who loves cars, including myself and my kids,” Grosjean said in a statement.
Lamborghini is yet to reveal its LMDh but we know it will use a chassis sourced from Ligier, one of four chassis suppliers for LMDh, and will also run a V-8 hybrid powertrain, with the V-8 to be a new twin-turbo unit developed by Lamborghini’s own Squadra Corse racing arm, though one thought to be related to the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 fitted to Lamborghini’s Urus SUV. The hybrid component will be a single motor-generator integrated with a 7-speed transmission.
LMDh cars from rival teams will start racing in 2023, in the GTP class of the SportsCar Championship and the Hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship. Acura, BMW, Cadillac, and Porsche will field LMDh race cars in 2023, with Alpine and Lamborghini to join the fray in 2024. ByKolles, Ferrari, Glickenhaus, Peugeot, and Toyota are all committed to the rival LMH car category.
The first race that will see LMDh cars hit the track will be the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona on next month. It will serve as the opening round of the 2023 SportsCar Championship.