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Romain Grosjean’s F1 car catches fire after a terrible accident.
- Romain Grosjean suffered a terrible crash at the start of the Bahrain GP.
- SA racing driver Alan van der Merwe was the first to arrive on the scene in the F1 medical car.
- The driver drove away alive with burns to his arms and legs, according to reports.
- The race will resume once the barriers are patched.
The 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix was a great success. Literally! Seconds after the race started, Romain Grosjean’s car rolled off the track and crashed into the barriers, catching fire.
Fortunately, Grosjean left alive and reports emerged that he suffered some burns to his leg. They have taken him to the hospital.
See the pictures below:
What happened?
At the start of the race, Grosjean and the rest of the grid fought for position. Being in the mix of everything, Grosjean, like all the drivers around him, looked for gaps on the way to the best position on the track. Grosjean saw an opening to regain more positions and turned to the right, colliding with Alfa Tauri driver Daniil Kvyat.
The two drivers touched and the contact sent Grosjean into the barriers. The Haas de Grosjean caught fire almost instantly, causing the red flag to appear to indicate the race had stopped. The driver jumped out of his Haas F1 car that had been broken in half and was immediately taken to the medical center for a check-up. Early reports indicate that Grosjean suffered minor burns to his arms and legs.
It is very rare in Formula 1 to see a race car catch fire almost immediately. And what is even more surprising, it breaks in half. Grosjean walked away from such an accident is testament to F1’s progress in safety. Every aspect of the race relies on driver safety and the halo, the black ring around the driver’s head, added more protection since its introduction in 2018. This same device, the halo, effectively saved Grosjean’s life today. Without him, the Haas driver would not have left alive.
Formula 1 may be the pinnacle of motorsport as the leading form of racing, but its advancements in safety are not among the best in the world.
First on the scene
Alan van der Merwe, a South African racing driver and businessman who is the current Formula 1 medical car driver, said that he had never seen anything like this before in his career.
Van der Merwe and Dr. Ian Roberts were the first to arrive and helped Grosjean out of the car wreck.
Van der Merwe said: “It took me a few seconds to realize what was happening. It felt much longer.” According to Van der Merwe, it was a stressful few minutes and he was relieved that the Haas driver was okay.
