Romain Grosjean’s car violently struck a barrier, split in half, and erupted in flames during the first lap of Formula One’s Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.
The race was stopped and Grosjean, who surprisingly made it out of his car without life-threatening injuries, has been hospitalized in a Manama hospital.
The incident is the most serious accident in the sport in years.
The French Haas driver clipped Daniil Kvyat’s car early on in the race, and right after the third corner, veered off the track. Kvyat told Sky Sports that he was “angry” at first at Grosjean for turning into him, but his “mind changed immediately” when he observed Grosjean’s car getting smashed through the barriers, break in half, and explode. About 18-20 seconds later, Grosjean emerged from the wreckage.
“Romain is doing okay, I don’t want to make a medical comment but he had light burns on his hands and ankles,” said Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner on Twitter. “Obviously he’s shaken … I want to thank the rescue crews who are very quick. The marshals and FIA people, they did a great job, it was scary.”
Formula One’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, said that emergency and medical crews were quick to attend Grosjean and he remained conscious at all times. He was flown to the Bahrain Defence Force Hospital where he is being evaluated right now.
“In 12 years I’ve never seen that much fire,” medical car driver Alan van der Merwe said. “Then Romain just started to get out of the car himself, which is pretty amazing following an incident like that. It just goes to show all the systems, the halo, the barriers, the seat belt, all worked as they should. Without even one of those things it could have been a very different outcome.”
The curved bar that surrounds a driver’s head known as a halo, which was possibly instrumental in Grosjean’s survival, was only added to all Formula One cars in 2018. There was criticism regarding the additional safety equipment at the time, including one driver who said it destroys the “looks of the car” and fans who deemed it visually unappealing. But on Sunday, it appeared to have helped save Grosjean’s life, and it wouldn’t be the first time it boosted afety for drivers. Drivers Tadasuke Makino, Charles Leclerc and Alex Peroni have all credited the halo for potentially saving their lives in separate accidents.
Seven-time world champion driver Lewis Hamilton, who went on to win Sunday’s Grand Prix, wrote on Twitter that he is “grateful” for Grosjean’s safety and reminded viewers that the risk drivers take is “no joke.” He added that he is “thankful to the FIA for the massive strides we’ve taken for Romain to walk away from that safely”.
