Five laps. That was all that stood between Romain Grosjean and the end of an agonizing winless drought that dates back more than 15 years.
Instead, the 40-year-old Swiss-born Frenchman watched a storybook victory slip through his fingers on the 2.19-mile, 12-turn temporary street circuit at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham.
Driving the #18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda, Grosjean delivered a superb performance, taking the lead after Marcus Ericsson pitted on Lap 69 of 90 and then building a three-second gap over reigning four-time champion Alex Palou.
“At the end of the race I knew we had to go 37-ish laps on the tires, on the fuel,” Grosjean said. That was going to be a challenge. When I saw the #28 pitting, Marcus, I thought there was no way he would catch us. The #10 was behind me, which is always a worry. Opened the gap. We should be safe. Next thing I knew, the #28 was coming.”
Completing a furious late-race charge through the top five, Ericsson passed Palou and closed down Grosjean in the final stint. Running on fumes, Grosjean was entirely defenseless.
“Honda did amazing with us. They worked so well, gave us the exact fuel number to cross the finish line with nothing left in the tank,” Grosjean said. “Nothing much you could do to defend. Not meant to be today… I had no more fuel, no more tires, no more anything. I just gave it all.”
The second-place finish marked Grosjean’s best result since Barber in 2023, but it extends a painful pattern, becoming the sixth runner-up finish of his IndyCar career.
His last victory in any racing category remains a GP2 Series race in Hungary in 2011.
“I cried a little. I’m not going to lie,” Grosjean said. “Yes, it’s a long time. It sucks. I thought today when I pulled the gap to Palou, I thought that was good.”
Despite the heartbreak, Grosjean leaned on advice from an unconventional source to keep perspective, finding solace in how far his team had come.
“Control what you can control. I think that comes from Andre Agassi, the book read. I did everything I could,” he said. “Very happy with my team and my performance. Gives me hope for next week, Freedom 250, another great one.”
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