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Race officials and drivers praised the modern safety systems developed for Formula One on Sunday after Romain Grosjean said he was “fine” after surviving a high-speed crash and fireball on the first lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Frenchman’s car crashed into the barriers when braking hard from about 250 km / h (155 mph) during the first lap, the front end hitting the steel railings that bent.
Grosjean, 34, trapped in his cabin, flew under the barrier when it gave way and his car burst into flames, splitting in two on impact, but managed to escape with only “minor burns” to his hands and ankles.
“Hello everyone, I just wanted to say that I’m fine, well, more or less fine,” Grosjean said from his hospital bed in a video posted on social media.
“Thank you very much for all the messages.”
Safety pilot and medical officer Alan van der Merwe arrived on the scene in seconds as he followed the field after the start of the race and together with Medical Director Dr. Ian Roberts fought the fire to save Grosjean’s life. .
“It’s a miracle that he’s alive,” said 1996 world champion Damon Hill, who was Ayrton Senna’s teammate at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix when the Brazilian died.
Van der Merwe said: “It was also a big surprise for us, we have never seen so much fire in 12 years.
“Romain started to get out of the car himself, which was quite surprising after an accident like that. It was a relief to see that he was fine. It just shows that all the systems we have developed work hand in hand: halos.” , the barriers, the seat belts, everything worked as it should.
“Without one of those things, it could have been a very different result.”
Grosjean lost control of his Haas car after hitting the left front wheel of Daniil Kvyat’s Alpha Tauri, having leaned to the right in the intense battle for position at turn three on the first lap.
His Haas team boss Guenther Steiner said: “When you see something like this, all you think is ‘I hope we’re lucky,’ you don’t think about how it happened or whatever.
“I would like to thank all the sheriffs. They did a fantastic job getting him out of the fire as quickly as possible. It was amazing what they did.”
Grosjean said the controversial “halo” security device had saved his life.
“I was not in favor of the halo a few years ago, but I think it is the best thing that we brought to Formula 1 and without it I could not talk to you today,” he added.
Grosjean ‘aware at all times’
Steiner added that Grosjean, who is set to leave F1 at the end of the season, had suffered “minor burns to his hands and ankles.”
Grosjean was taken to the hospital, and reports suggest he had also suffered a suspected broken rib.
“The driver freed himself and was conscious at all times,” the FIA said in a statement. “He was taken to the medical center before being transferred by helicopter to the Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF) Hospital, where he is undergoing further evaluation.”
The race was restarted after a long delay, with newly crowned world champion Lewis Hamilton taking the victory.
“I am very grateful that Romain is safe,” Hamilton wrote on Twitter.
“Wow … the risk we take is no joke, for those of you who forget that we risk our lives for this sport and for what we love to do.
“Thankful to the FIA for the huge strides we’ve made to get Romain safely away from that.”
The safety car quickly returned to action after the restart when Lance Stroll’s car flipped over.
The Canadian’s Racing Point made contact with Kvyat’s Alpha Tauri at Turn 8, and his car came to a stop upside down.
Stroll was unharmed and kept cool inside his car.
“I’m fine, just hanging upside down,” he told his team before exiting.
(AFP)
