Controversial innovation saves Romain Grosjean in horror F1 crash at Bahrain Grand Prix | 7NEWS.com.au
Romain Grosjean walked away from a crash inferno that split his car in two at the Bahrain Grand Prix in a ‘miracle’ escape that owed as much to Formula One’s never-ending quest for safety as luck.
Ross Brawn, Formula One’s managing director for motorsport, said the halo head protection system, a three-point titanium structure introduced in 2018, had probably saved the Frenchman’s life.
The Haas car careered off at speed, penetrating the steel barriers and bursting into flames before Grosjean clambered clear, as you can see in the video above.
“Undoubtedly, we’ve got to do a very deep analysis of all the events that occurred because there were a number of things that shouldn’t have happened,” Brawn told Sky Sports television.
“The fire was worrying, the split of the barrier was worrying.
“I think the positives are the safety of the car and that’s what got us through today.”
Brawn said barriers splitting was a problem from Formula One’s far more dangerous past “and normally it resulted in a fatality”.
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“There’s absolutely no doubt the halo was the factor that saved the day and saved Romain,” said the Briton.
“There was quite a lot of controversy at the time about introducing it and I don’t think anyone now can doubt the validity of that. It was a life-saver today.”
Brawn said the sport had not seen such a fire in many years, although the fuel cells were now built to be ‘incredibly strong’ and he suspected it was more likely to be due to a ruptured connection.
“It looked a big fire but those cars are carrying 100 kilos of fuel at that stage. I think if 100 kilos had gone up we would have had a massive fire. For me that was a fire of a few kilos of fuel.”
Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion, said he was ‘flabbergasted’ by what he had seen and it was a miracle Grosjean, a father of three who is likely to leave Formula One at the end of the year, was alive.
“It is a miracle he is alive,” Hill said.
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FIA medical delegate Ian Roberts rushed forward to assist Grosjean as marshals extinguished the burning car.
Haas said the last recorded speed of the car was 221kph while a spokesman for the sport’s governing FIA said the impact measured more than 50G.
Replays showed the Frenchman, whose Formula One career already looked to be coming to an end with Haas having announced the departure of both their drivers at the end of the year, jumping out of the flames as marshals set off extinguishers.
Lewis Hamilton, who has already won a record-equalling seventh title and was leading from pole position when the red flags came out, shook his head in disbelief as he watched replays.
“I’m so grateful Romain is safe. Wow… the risk we take is no joke, for those of you out there that forget that we put our life on the line for this sport and for what we love to do,” said Hamilton on Twitter.
“Thankful to the FIA for the massive strides we’ve taken for Romain to walk away from that safely.”
The death last year of Formula Two racer Anthoine Hubert at the Belgian Grand Prix was the first fatality at an F1 race weekend since Brazilian Ayrton Senna and Austrian Roland Ratzenberger died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
Jules Bianchi suffered serious head injuries in a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix in October 2014, succumbing to them in July the following year.
Hill said the halo head protection device, introduced in 2018, appeared to have saved the Frenchman from serious injury and Haas principal Guenther Steiner agreed.
“When you see what is going on out there, if you see the barrier that is torn down, it’s unbelievable,” said Steiner.
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“I think we were lucky by being unlucky … we got away with it, I think.”
Grosjean posted a video from his hospital bed on Sunday evening, expressing his gratitude for the introduction of the halo and thanking medical staff.
“Hello everyone. Just wanted to say I am OK, well, sort of OK,” he said, as he waggled his bandaged hands. “Thank you very much for all the messages.
“I wasn’t for the halo some years ago but I think it’s the greatest thing that we’ve brought into Formula One. Without it I wouldn’t be able to speak to you today.
“Thanks to all the medical staff at the scene and the hospital.
“Hopefully I can write to you soon some messages and tell you how it’s going.”
“You’re always learning in this business, not just about going faster.
“Romain Grosjean is a very, very fortunate young man tonight.”
Hamilton also paid credit to the marshals and medical car team, the first on the scene.
“It is an amazing job the FIA have done. The marshals are the unsung heroes every weekend that we get to go out, those guys are there to protect us and they really are incredible in what they do,” he said.