Juncos-Hollinger was a hot spot for Callum Ilott in the 2023 season because the fans of his Argentinian team-mate Agustin Canapino regularly raged on social media. The misbehavior of the “haters” did not make it easy for Ilott, because in addition to insults, there were also death threats against the racing driver and his family. The team condemned these offenses, but was unable to curb them. Ilott’s successor is Romain Grosjean, who describes himself as “resistant” to online attacks
The reason for the outbursts of anger at the time was an accident in Long Beach in which both Juncos-Hollinger drivers were involved. Grosjean wants to prevent such a scenario by putting himself in good stead with the Argentinian, who set his own personal record in his rookie season as a touring car ace with three twelfth places. With 1.4 million followers on X – formerly Twitter – Grosjean also has a large fan base behind him.
“I heard about the incident back then. I hope everything will be okay, but I know what Callum went through. It wasn’t ideal and I felt for him. When something like that happens to me, I just avoid social media and do my thing. But it’s very unfortunate that something like this happens.”
Grosjean speaks of a “passionate” fan base in South America, which, as in the case of Canapino against Ilott, likes to go overboard. “We simply have to maintain a good relationship and ensure that such situations don’t arise in the first place,” says the new arrival from Juncos-Hollinger. “If it does happen, we have to deal with it as well as possible, but I think I’m resistant to the haters.”
Grosjean is convinced of Canapino’s performance, especially as the 33-year-old Argentinian had to master the transition from touring cars to formula racing. “He’s an impressive guy,” says the former Formula 1 driver. “I’m looking forward to my time with him. It’s like Scott McLaughlin in the Supercars. It’s very impressive what he achieves when you see where he comes from. Both also have a great mentality.”
Another point that Grosjean is convinced of is the learning ability of his new team-mate, who has managed to master the English language in a very short space of time. “He really is very talented,” says the 37-year-old. “I’m already practicing Spanish with him. Let’s see what I can learn from him, because he’s already achieved a lot this year. “