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Right on the starting lap, Romain Grosjean ran towards a railing at more than 200 km / h. The Frenchman’s hat snapped in two and immediately became a huge ball of fire. As if by a miracle, Grosjean was able to free himself from the burning cabin trapped under the protection of the route.
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Photo gallery: Bahrain race stopped after accident
Image: AFP
According to initial reports, the pilot was not seriously injured, but was taken by helicopter to Manama hospital with minor burns to his hands and feet. The third and final round of the 2020 World Championships was interrupted for over an hour before the race restarted.
Video recordings show the serious accident:
Immediately afterwards, however, the next serious accident followed, in which Canadian Lance Stroll overturned his Racing Point. Also in this case, the driver was able to escape the vehicle himself, even though he was “on the roof”. Stroll had previously run into Daniil Kwjat’s Alpha Tauri, and the Russian received a 10-second time penalty.
Kwjat had previously been involved in the Grosjean accident, but the Frenchman collided with his car while changing lanes. According to calculations, Grosjean’s car reached 56 G.
According to ORF television analysis, the pilot spent 26 seconds in the fire. After the accident, the medical car was there immediately due to the departure lap. While the extinguishing work began, the pilot was able to break free from the driver’s cell and escape the fire by jumping the barrier. Grosjean had apparently lost a shoe while leaving the burning driver’s cell.
One of the worst accidents in years.
The Grosjean accident was one of the worst in Formula 1 in recent years and was reminiscent of the nasty fire accidents of earlier times, which, as is well known, once affected Austrians Niki Lauda and Gerhard Berger. Grosjean, a Geneva-born Frenchman, was a childhood friend of his compatriot Jules Bianchi, who died in 2015, who suffered serious head injuries in an accident in Japan with a recovery crane in 2014 and died in a coma several months later.
“If you drive to the absolute limit, something can always happen,” said co-commentator and ORF expert Alexander Wurz. The former Formula 1 driver is president of the Drivers Association (GPDA) and recalled prophecies of doom according to which Formula 1 has long been “absolutely safe” and such violent accidents had long been considered unthinkable.
When it comes to safety, one should never be satisfied and never rest, Wurz emphasized. Currently the focus is probably on the railings and their mounting. “But in general it’s like flying. As soon as you get on the plane, there is residual risk.”
“What happened here today is incredible”
The most positive news about Grosjean came from the Haas box. “Romain is conscious, he has minor burns, but he is fine,” said team boss Günther Steiner. “I thank the race doctor and the sheriffs. What happened here today is incredible.”
Grosjean was very lucky in one of the worst Formula 1 accidents in recent years. The Swiss-born Frenchman was sitting in the front of the cockpit of the burning car that he had pierced under the railing. However, the driver was able to abandon the burning vehicle himself.
The car literally split into two parts. Image: (AFP)
Due to the severe damage to the railings, the race had to be interrupted for a long time to carry out repair work, according to initial information from the race direction for at least another 45 minutes.
