Grosjean keen on 2012 race seat

Romain Grosjean says his focus is firmly on securing a place on the F1 grid for the 2012 season, with the chance that the opportunity to return to the grid could pass him by if he isn't able to find a seat.

Grosjean competed in seven races for Renault towards the end of the 2009 season following the departure of Nelson Piquet Jr, although he was then forced to make return to GP2 when the team elected to bring in Vitaly Petrov to partner Robert Kubica last year.

Having rejoined the team as a test and reserve driver this year, Grosjean is now hopeful that his return to the paddock will culminate in a race seat somewhere on the grid in 2012 with his current role helping him keep up to speed with the ongoing developments in the sport.

"Clearly, the idea is to get to Formula 1 next year," he told GPUpdate. "If not, it's going to be difficult, so the goal is to get there in 2012 as a race driver; if it's not the case, we'll see what's going on.

"Being the third driver, I can get some information and I can be in the paddock with the engineers. It's very good to be third driver because you're always with the team, which is great for my knowledge and knowing everybody around a little bit."

Grosjean added that he was hopeful of getting the chance to drive the 2011 Renault before the end of the season, ideally in Friday practice at an even towards the end of the year.

"That would be fantastic," he said. "I'll take it for sure, if it's the case at the end of the GP2 season - because we're going to finish in September, so it's quite a long time until the next test."