Romain Grosjean admits he has taken a risk by joining Haas for the 2016 season, but remains convinced that he has made the right decision.

The Frenchman ended a five-year association with Lotus to join the sport’s newest team at the end of this season, and he knows that there is an element of uncertainty surrounding his switch.

He said: “It’s a risk because you always know what you have and you never know what you are going to get. But it is the same in life – when you change something, you know what you have and you guess what you’re going to have.”

The 29-year-old secured ten podium finishes during his successful spell at Lotus, with his last top three placing coming at this year’s Belgian Grand Prix in August, but he admits that he could not turn down the opportunity to be part of the project at Haas.

He continued: “I want to go to Haas because I like the project, I like that it is an American team, I like Gene [Haas] and Gunther [Steiner] and the way they came to F1.”

The Geneva native is keen to enjoy a fast start at his new team, and he is hopeful they can put in a positive showing during the first race of the 2016 campaign in Australia on March 20.

He added: “If it can be successful and we get to Melbourne and we can go to Q3, imagine how big that would be. I want to be part of that.”

Grosjean finished 11th in the Drivers’ championship standings during 2015 and he is an outside bet at 501.00 to win the world title next season, with reigning champion Lewis Hamilton the 1.60 favourite to retain his crown.