'I did everything I could’: Grosjean reflects on Markham P2

Credit: Julia Bissessar

Romain Grosjean came within five laps of ending a 15-year wait for a race victory at the inaugural Indy Markham, turning a difficult start to the weekend into his first podium of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season with Dale Coyne Racing.

Grosjean arrived from a chaotic race as the late leader after surviving a string of incidents around the new Markham street circuit. The Frenchman stretched his final stint in an attempt to hold onto first, but Marcus Ericsson's alternative strategy and fresher tyres proved too much in the closing laps. Ericsson passed Grosjean on Lap 85 before pulling away to win by over seven seconds, leaving Grosjean second and Will Power third.

For Grosjean, second still represented a significant result after a weekend where his prospects had looked far less promising following qualifying. “What happened is that we started on the back foot, reverted to the setup on qualifying that we kind of knew better,” Grosjean said. “I think in qualifying, I'm not going to go into details [about] what happened, but the red flag really hurt us there. Then in the race, I felt straightaway we had some good pace.”

Grosjean's race developed slowly rather than through one decisive moment. While Louis Foster controlled the early stages from pole, Grosjean stayed clear of the incidents that quickly began affecting others around the circuit and put himself in position to benefit as strategies started to diverge.

That clean approach became increasingly important as the race produced six full-course cautions. Grosjean admitted some of the restarts became difficult to manage, particularly while trying to generate tyre temperature, but he repeatedly found enough grip to avoid trouble and make progress.

“It was tough on the strategy to know what to do. It was very hard on the restart,” Grosjean said. “Just couldn't get much temperature on the tyres. Did well every time. Managed to pass Siegel. Took the lead, opened up a gap.”

The ability to stay clear of trouble became one of the defining parts of his afternoon. Contact and crashes eliminated several drivers who had shown front-running pace, including Foster and Kyle Kirkwood, while others lost ground through badly timed stops or incidents at the hairpin.

Grosjean seemed to repeatedly arrive at those moments with enough room to escape. He credited some of that to fortune, but his awareness around a circuit where drivers were still learning the limits also kept his No. 18 DCR Honda in contention.

“Yeah, some of the restarts were a bit chaotic. I got lucky,” Grosjean said. “I was never involved in any of those. I always found myself in the clear space. Yeah, I really like the weekend.”

The first IndyCar weekend at Markham arrived after four decades of racing in Toronto, placing plenty of attention on how the new venue would perform. Drivers faced an unfamiliar circuit with several demanding sections, including a tight hairpin which became one of the busiest areas during Sunday's race.

Grosjean left impressed by both the circuit and the event. The smooth surface stood out to him in particular, allowing the cars to attack the track without some of the bumps associated with established street courses.

“Well, let me talk about the track. Amazing, Markham. Thank you for having us,” Grosjean said. “The pavement was great. The racetrack is great. The organisation has been good. The track has been fun to drive. I got to say that I'm very impressed with this weekend generally. Smooth tarmac like this makes the racing so much nicer for us compared to some other places.”

The hairpin produced several incidents throughout the race, including contact between multiple drivers and a number of cars struggling to negotiate the corner during restarts. Grosjean's assessment was much simpler when asked whether he liked the section.

“Amazing. It's really good,” Grosjean said.

Credit: Julia Bissessar

As the caution periods continued, Grosjean gradually worked himself towards the front. Nolan Siegel led one restart before Grosjean moved ahead on Lap 40, putting the DCR driver into a position where victory started to look realistic.

His strategy changed again as the race entered its final third. Grosjean stopped on Lap 53 and returned further down the order, but another caution soon brought the field back together and created another opportunity.

By the time the strategies began to settle, Grosjean had returned to the front and faced the difficult task of making both fuel and tyres last until the chequered flag. The target was roughly 37 laps, leaving little room for excessive fuel use or tyre degradation.

“At the end of the race I knew we had to go 37-ish laps on the tyres, on the fuel,” Grosjean said. “That was going to be a challenge. When I saw the No.28 pitting, Marcus, I thought there was no way he would catch us. The No.10 was behind me, which is always a worry. Opened the gap. We should be safe. Next thing I knew, the No.28 was coming.”

Initially, the situation looked favourable. Ericsson had stopped on Lap 69 after completing a long stint of his own, while Grosjean held track position and began building his advantage over Álex Palou.

The problem became clear as Ericsson started taking chunks of time out of the leaders. With Grosjean conserving fuel and managing ageing tyres, Ericsson had the freedom to attack on fresher rubber.

Grosjean's advantage gradually disappeared as Ericsson worked through the cars between them. The Andretti Global driver moved into second late in the race and quickly reached the back of Grosjean's car.

There was little Grosjean had left to use in defence. His strategy had placed him in contention for victory, but the same strategy meant his tyres and fuel numbers offered almost no flexibility once Ericsson arrived.

“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. Very happy for Dale Coyne Racing. I told my engineer Bill Pappas, it's not that hard when everything goes well.”

Ericsson completed the decisive pass on Lap 85. Once ahead, the Swede quickly stretched his advantage, while Grosjean focused on reaching the finish and protecting second place.

The result still carried plenty of emotion. Grosjean has endured several near misses since moving to IndyCar and the prospect of finally returning to the top step had felt genuine during the closing stages at Markham.

“I cried a little. I'm not going to lie,” Grosjean admitted. “But control what you can control. I think that comes from Andre Agassi, the book I read. I did everything I could.”

Second place delivered Grosjean his first podium of the season and his best result since returning to IndyCar. More importantly, the performance showed the team had enough pace and strategic flexibility to place itself in a genuine fight for victory.

Grosjean had little interest in blaming the result on one missed call. Without having watched the race back, he acknowledged that Ericsson's route to victory had worked while taking satisfaction from what his own team achieved.

“I don't know how the strategy worked for the 28. I guess the short pit lane helped them, then the fact a lot of people had to save fuel and run out of space,” Grosjean said. “Obviously I haven't watched the race. Very happy with my team and my performance. Gives me hope for next week, Freedom 250, another great one.”

Credit: Toofan Karami

That hope carries added weight considering how long Grosjean has waited for another victory. His last race win came in GP2 at the Hungaroring in 2011 before he spent the following decade competing in Formula One.

His move to IndyCar created new opportunities to fight near the front, yet several strong performances have ended without a victory. Markham became the latest near miss, although Grosjean rejected any suggestion that the long gap has affected his belief that he remains capable of winning.

“Good. Again, I did everything I could. I went to Formula One for 10 years,” Grosjean said when asked about the wait. “F1, if you don't have the car, you don't win a race. Yes, it's a long time to have not won a race. I don't think I forgot how to win a race. I just think I didn't get the chance to do that.”

The final stint at Markham offered Grosjean one of his clearest opportunities in years. With Palou behind him and a gap beginning to form, the possibility of ending his winless run became increasingly difficult to ignore.

Yet Ericsson's pace changed the equation. Grosjean had already committed everything available to making his strategy work, leaving him with no reserve once the No. 28 Honda arrived.

“Yes, it's a long time. It sucks,” Grosjean said. “I thought today when I pulled the gap to Palou, I thought that was good. But I had no more fuel, no more tyres, no more anything. I just gave it all.”

That final sentence summed up his afternoon. Grosjean had survived the early chaos, made the strategy work and built a lead when the opportunity appeared. Five laps from the finish, the race finally swung away from him.

Second place will not end the long wait for another victory, but Markham offered something Grosjean and DCR have been searching for throughout 2026. They had the opportunity to fight for a win on merit and stayed in contention until the closing minutes.

Grosjean believes the disappointment of losing the lead remained alongside the satisfaction of returning to the podium. After a weekend that started on the back foot, he departed the inaugural Indy Markham with his strongest result of the season so far and a clear sense of renewed confidence heading into the next race.