Romain Grosjean made a heartwarming and highly emotional return to Formula 1 on Friday, climbing back into a Haas car for the first time in nearly five years during a special test session at Italy’s Mugello Circuit.

The French driver’s last F1 appearance came at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, where he miraculously survived a terrifying crash that saw his Haas car split in two and erupt in flames. The accident left Grosjean with burns to his hands and prematurely ended his F1 career—until now.

Thanks to a Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) opportunity organized by the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team and Pirelli, Grosjean was invited to complete an emotional one-day test behind the wheel of a 2023-spec VF-23. And the experience proved to be far more than just a technical run.

“Five years after Bahrain, here we are at Mugello, one of my favourite tracks” Grosjean said after stepping out of the car. “A big thanks to the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team—it was a special day! Gene Haas, Ayao Komatsu… they made it happen.”

Driving in wet conditions, Grosjean wore a custom helmet designed by his children—one he originally planned to use at the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which he was forced to miss due to his injuries. The symbolism of that helmet, and the moment, wasn’t lost on the 39-year-old.

“It was a wet day, but as we say with weddings, ‘rainy wedding, happy wedding’—so this was a rainy day, happy day,” he smiled. “I felt a bit rusty at first, then everything came back. I even got to do a standing start. My last standing start was Bahrain 2020… and this one went much better!”

In attendance were several key figures from Grosjean’s past and present in motorsport, including Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur and current Haas boss Ayao Komatsu—who was Grosjean’s race engineer during his earlier stint with the team. A few rival teams, including Red Bull and Ferrari, were also present for concurrent Pirelli tyre testing.

“It was a very unique opportunity—to see some of the people who were there in Australia 2016 [Haas’s first F1 race] and to drive this new generation of cars. It was fantastic. I’m very, very grateful. There are just no other words.”

But it was the final moments of the day that hit Grosjean the hardest. After completing his last in-lap, he was met with a standing ovation from the Haas garage and personnel from Ferrari, Red Bull, and Pirelli.

“They made me cry at the end of the day!” he admitted. “I kept my visor down, but everyone was clapping. That’s something I was expecting in Abu Dhabi 2020, but I think it was even better today.”