New Haas signing Romain Grosjean says he was surprised by the reception he received from U.S. fans on arrival in America this week.
Last month Grosjean became the first man confirmed for Gene Haas' new entry at the team's North Carolina base in Kannapolis. The French driver, who is currently at Lotus, says he was not expecting the greeting he got on arrival in Dallas this week ahead of the U.S. Grand Prix.
"I flew from Paris to Dallas, stopped in Dallas and I don't know how many pictures I did there," Grosjean said. "It was crazy that the fans, people were already recognising me. There's a lot of support coming from the U.S. Everyone is very excited to have an American Formula One team. That's great. It can be very nice for F1, for Haas and for me."
"Everyone is wishing me good luck for this year but they're already looking forward to next year. They're very much behind the team. They are very patriotic and it's good."
Asked if he expected such a reception, he replied: "It was massively unexpected".
Grosjean's team-mate for 2016 is yet to be confirmed. It is widely expected to be Esteban Gutierrez and may well be announced at the Ferrari test driver's home race in Mexico next weekend.