Romain Grosjean predicts Lando Norris will win 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Who will win the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix? That's the question on many fans' minds after a wet practice session on Friday night.

I spoke with former Formula 1 and IndyCar driver Romain Grosjean at the inaugural Fan Prix. He says his pick is for McLaren's Lando Norris to go all the way.

"I actually play a fantasy game with my friends so my fantasy podium is Norris, Verstappen, and Russell," he said. "And for the championship, I am Team Lando."

WATCH: Fan Prix 2025: Motorsports come to Resorts World

I asked him what fans should look for during the race.

"Strategy. The tire wear will be a big impact. Qualifying was not necessarily the order we're going to see on track because it was wet yesterday and it's going to be dry today and top speed because if you have really good top speed in Vegas, you can pass."

He added that Las Vegas being a street circuit is also challenging.

"It's a track in the city. Street circuits are always more complicated than road courses because of walls, bump, and things like that. Then, it's a night race, which in Singapore is not a problem because it's always hot. You don't have the cold temperature," Grosjean said. "Here, it's cold and hard to get tires warm into an operating window. Then, [the road] is slick, soft and smooth so it's hard to get the tires to move, which causes grip issues. ... You have a 1.2 mile-long straight line on the back, which is awesome for overtaking but imagine driving so hard and so fast and your brakes are cold. So when you get to the braking zone, they don't always work the way you intended them to."

Grosjean has been out of Formula 1 since his scary and fiery crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix. On Nov. 29, 2020, Grosjean was driving for Haas and during the opening lap of the race, his vehicle made contact with Daniil Kvyat's car. That sent Grosjean into a barrier at 119 miles per hour.

The impact caused his vehicle to split in two before it caught fire. Grosjean was trapped inside the vehicle for nearly 30 seconds before miraculously escaping the fire.

He says he can't believe it's already been five years since that fateful day.

"I think I moved on super quickly from it and came back to racing in 2021 in the States. I mean, I've been busy racing since then," Grosjean said. "It's definitely changed me as a human being because it's an experience that was a close call, I like to say. I would say the thing that changed is [originally] I never wanted to get my helmet from the crash and take it home. Actually, I think I'm going to ask, it was in a museum, and I may be asking to get it back."

He says there have been several safety changes since his crash, which will better protect drivers in the future.

"They changed three things. The gloves requirement is slightly different than it was before so they have to hold fire a little big longer. The headrest that goes around the neck, the system has been changed because the headrest came loose in my accident and was actually on top of my head so that was one of the reasons I was stuck in the car," Grosjean said. "Number three, the fuel tank never exploded. The fuel tank was always intact but what happened in my accident is the fuel cap came loose. That has been changed. The design was actually not as good as they thought it was. In theory, if you do have my accident today, there should not be any fire but don't try it."

The crash has been one of the most memorable moments in recent Formula 1 history and was partially recreated in the F1 movie.

"Jerry Bruckheimer came to me and asked if I was okay and that he would like to copy the accident," Grosjean explained. "Then, I got the chance to speak with Damson Idris, the actor. He wanted to know what I went through. I have not seen the movie myself but I know the accident is in there and they tried to replicate as much as they could."

Grosjean came to the U.S. to race in the IndyCar series back in 2021. Earlier this year, he returned to the seat of an F1 car when Haas invited him to testing at the Mugello Circuit in Italy in September. He said it was an emotional return.

"The guy that was at the front of the car was the same mechanic, the one that was changing the front left tire was the same. Ayao Komatsu, which is now the boss, he was my engineer in Formula 1 for many years, was on the radio. It was a great day," Grosjean said. "It wasn't about going fast. It wasn't about making the best setup. It wasn't about anything related to racing. It was just about having gun, going out there on the track, and enjoying it."

Guido De Bortoli/LAT Images

Grosjean has spent 27 years racing and hasn't necessarily ruled out coming back to Formula 1. He says doing testing with Haas felt like he never left the grid.

"It worries me a bit. That's why I'm saying five years didn't feel like five years. We did a practice start and I remembered all the procedures and everything correctly. It just feels like I could jump on the grid and be okay, which is scary or good or bad. I don't know," Grosjean said. "I had a super license. I think I can get it back. I think I need another 25 laps in a Formula 1 car to reactivate it but there's ways that they can actually reactivate it without doing those laps."

So if any Formula 1 team out there is looking for an experienced driver.....

"But there's also plenty of young drivers that are really good," Grosjean said smiling. "As I say, I'm an old story but a smart fox, sometimes, is what you need."

And as for who he'd love to race for, one team immediately sprung to mind.

"I think I'm going to say McLaren. When I was a kid, that was the team I loved," Grosjean said. "Red Bull's not bad either but I don't want to be Max's teammate. He's too good!"