Romain Grosjean lands at Juncos Hollinger Racing after Andretti Global exit

"I'm the Phoenix, I always land on my feet.

"I'm not worried."

That was Romain Grosjean, just over two months ago on pitlane at World Wide Technology Raceway, with rumors swirling that he would not return to his two-year IndyCar home, Andretti Autosport, after it had spent a not-insignificant amount for an Indy 500-winning driver who appeared to be his replacement.

Now, one of IndyCar's fastest, most popular drivers has found another home. Grosjean will man Juncos Hollinger Racing's No. 77 Chevy, the team announced Thursday, replacing Callum Ilott, JHR's foundational young talent the team "mutually parted ways" with last week. This latest stop is the Swiss-born Frenchman's third team in what will be a four-year IndyCar tenure in 2024.

That day at WWTR, it had been four long, painful, frustrating months since the ex-Formula 1 driver had logged back-to-back runner-up finishes and secured two poles in his first four starts of 2023. Only a single top-10 finish would follow in the 37-year-old's next nine starts in Andretti's No. 28 Honda. NBC's cameras would often capture Grosjean in a war of words with members of his crew or even Andretti brass as the driver's season worsened. Behind the scenes late in the year, Grosjean's team of advisors was compiling evidence for an arbitration proceedings with Michael Andretti's IndyCar outfit, "seeking to protect (his) rights" after contract negotiations in the spring went south.

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Within a pool of intriguing free agent signings in recent months -- from IMSA ace Tom Blomqvist (Meyer Shank Racing) and 500-winner Marcus Ericsson (Andretti Global) to range of achievement within the rest of the 2024 rookie class (Linus Lundqvist, Kyffin Simpson and Christian Rasmussen among them) -- this new Grosjean/JHR pairing for 2024 will arguably be the most fascinating one to watch.

"I've been closely following JHR's ascension in the past few seasons. The team has showcased significant growth and I am eager to contribute my experience as we aim for a strong 2024 season," Grosjean said in a team release.

Alongside his second-year teammate Agustin Canapino, who performed well above expectations as a rookie after a highly-decorated career in Argentine tour car championships, Grosjean will attempt to find a level of consistency with a less-funded and -resourced JHR team that he never fully found in two years with Andretti. Though he finished 13th in points during both his seasons at his previous stop, his introductory year was one where the No. 28 crew's couldn't create a car tailored to Grosjean's liking and strengths.

Whether he can hit the ground running faster in Year 1 with his new team will be the biggest key.

A close second?

Finding a way to more productively harness his energy, passion and vigor that has fueled his three career IndyCar poles and six podiums and put him at the center of public, intra-team team turmoil in 2022 (see: Mid-Ohio) and a mix of public and private spats on his way out in 2023.

"You won't change me," Grosjean told reporters in May, when asked about his impassioned words exchanged with crew members after a frustrating qualifying run for the GMR Grand Prix where he later said he was enraged from being held up by traffic. "I've been like this all my career.

"That means on some days, I'm incredible, and some days I'm not that good, but that's my passion for it. The day I'm not frustrated being blocked in qualifying is the day it's time to say 'bye' to you guys."

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In July, Michael Andretti told IndyStar that Grosjean "has a problem controlling his adrenaline." Back in May, after Grosjean's back-to-back 2nd-place finishes, Andretti told NBC that his driver in a contract year "does his best work" when he controlled his excitement.

"He's fast. Pleasant guy, great guy, but when it's negative comments about the team, yeah, that's frustrating," Andretti said of Grosjean in July at Iowa. "And it's not even just me. The guys, they take it to heart, because they're busting their (butts)."

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Grosjean heads to a team that in the last 27 months has gone from dormant to adding the financial resources in co-owner Brad Hollinger, jumping back full-time, buying the technical and physical resources of the outgoing Carlin program and quickly adding a second full-time car for its second full-time season. In the midst of all of that, it fostered the rapid growth and development of two IndyCar newcomers in Ilott and Canapino that not only fought regularly with series midfield mainstays, but often came out on top.

Last year, Ilott finished an impressive 16th in points, 10 behind Graham Rahal, 11 back of Rinus VeeKay and 30 behind Grosjean, while bookending his second full-season IndyCar campaign with 5th-place finishes at St. Pete to start and Laguna Seca to finish. In between, he dealt with two instances of barrages of social media vitriol from fans of his teammate, Canapino, related to run-ins they had on-track at Long Beach and Laguna -- neither of which were Ilott's fault.

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In addition, Ilott battled an ill-performing Indy 500 chassis in the testing and practice lead-up to qualifying for this year's race. Only after seven slow, ill-handling laps on Fast Friday, less than 24 hours before the start of qualifying, did JHR management finally relent and change the chassis. Against all odds, Ilott and his No. 77 Chevy would qualify the next day with ease. He'd go on to log his team's best-ever finish in the race in 12th.

It's growing pains and mismanagement decisions like those and others that JHR itself will have to grow out of if it hopes to take full-advantage of -- and keep happy and calm -- a top-level talent in Grosjean who continues to hunt for his first race win of any kind since his GP2 title in 2011.

"Romain brings an unparalleled pedigree in motorsports," Juncos said in a team release. "His leadership and experience are precisely what we need to propel JHR to new heights in the IndyCar series."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar: Romain Grosjean lands with Juncos Hollinger Racing after Andretti exit