F1: Grosjean becomes mentor to Deletraz

Haas Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean is to become a mentor to Renault protege Louis Deletraz.

Grosjean has decided to take the 18-year-old under his wing after benefiting from a similar experience with Jean Alesi during his own formative years. Deletraz won the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup last year, as well as finishing as runner-up in the Eurocup.

The Swiss driver will compete with Fortec Motorsport in the Formula V8 3.5 series this season and has also recently been inducted into the Renault Sport Academy.

"I had the idea of sharing my knowledge with a young driver," Grosjean said. "I had the same with Jean Alesi when I was younger, so I thought why not do the same.

"This was an opportunity – in particular with Louis being Swiss, living in Geneva, we can train together. He's in the Renault program, which I've been in for a long time, he's training with my physio, who I was with last year, so altogether it's a nice story. And if I can help on some subjects, as I've been through quite a bit, then that will be quite cool."

Grosjean is adamant he does not want to become a consultant or a manager, but someone who can help and offer advice when required.

"This is an important time for Louis as he is going into 3.5, which is quite a strong category," added Grosjean. "And when you are 18 and you go to Enstone for the first time, and there are 400 people there, you feel awkward.

"I remember when I went, I couldn't even speak English and I was lost, so I have been through it, and I can give him advice."

Deletraz is grateful for being able to call on someone of Grosjean's experience.

"Anything he can teach me will be good," said Deletraz, whose long-time sportscar racer father Jean-Denis made three F1 appearances with Larrousse and Pacific in 1994-'95. "He knows a lot. It's not really anything precise, but if something comes to mind and I have something I need to ask, I can ask, and he will probably know. Or, if on a race weekend something goes bad then I can call him and he will probably have experienced it."

Originally on Autosport.com