Romain Grosjean says he now considers himself one of the top drivers on the Formula 1 grid after he outscored everyone but Sebastian Vettel in the final six races of the season.
Indeed his boss, Lotus team principal Eric Boullier, said the Frenchman was amongst the top four on the grid recently.
Grosjean agrees and says he’s finally proving what he’s capable of after a shaky start.
“I think I have proven that I am part of the best drivers and that’s how I consider myself,” he told ESPN.
“It took some work and some painful time to get there, but I am now proud of what I am doing and I don’t think I can do more.”
Last year it was a different story. The 27-year-old was branded ‘crash-kid’ following several opening lap incidents and was even banned from taking part in the Italian Grand Prix.
“I was probably the one that was the most negative about myself,” he admitted. “I hate not being able to do what I want to be able to do and it was hard.
“It wasn’t nice to read those comments, but that was not what was worst, the worst was to not be happy with what you are doing.
“Right now I am glad because I’m very happy with what I am doing and it’s always nice to be able to read those nice comments.”
