Romain Grosjean has revealed that George Russell was the only Formula 1 driver to message him after news broke that he would be leaving Haas at the end of the 2020 season.
The Frenchman will end his five-year stint with Haas later this year, as will team-mate Kevin Magnussen, with Haas fielding an all-new, yet to be confirmed line-up for 2021.
Last time out at Imola, Russell crashed under a Safety Car period in his hunt for his first Championship points – a pain Grosjean understands, after he made a similar error at Baku in 2018.
Grosjean reached out to Russell on social media after the incident at Imola, urging the Briton to “keep pushing“, adding that “what you do is mega”.
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-120x86.webp)
Ahead of this weekend’s race in Turkey, Grosjean says he has a strong relationship with Russell, who offered him support after his difficult announcement last month.
“I’ve had a good relationship with George,” Grosjean said. “When the announcement was made that I wasn’t going to be with the team next season, he was the first and only one to send me a WhatsApp message.
“That really shows that he’s a great guy. I know how painful it is to crash under a safety car period – especially when it’s going to be your first point of the season.
“I believe it was the same for me at Baku in 2018. In the lower part of the field, you really need to work the tires a lot. I’ve said it many times, if I was doing Baku again, I’d probably do the same thing as I did three seasons ago.
“George didn’t do anything crazy, but he just lost the car. It was a tough day for him, but he’ll have plenty more (good days) to come.”
Russell, along with team-mate Nicholas Latifi, are the only drivers so far this season that have not scored points.
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-350x250.webp)
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-360x180.webp)
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