F1, Grosjean accident, the doctor: ‘Five seconds late and …’

“An incredible fire that had an incredibly positive result”: this is the summary of a witness of the accident that happened to Romain Grosjean in his Haas on Sunday at the Bahrain GP. The summary – delivered to the French agency AFP – of Alan van der Merwe (driver) and Ian Roberts (doctor), the crew of the medical car that was among the first to intervene at the scene of the accident, because as usual the group in the first round of the grand prize.

already there

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Precisely because the accident happened on the first lap, Roberts finished nine seconds after the terrifying blow at around 220 hours. “It was like being in an oven, red and on fire,” the doctor told AFP. “I saw Grosjean already starting to leave and I wondered how he would do it”, but “luckily the firefighters arrived quickly and weakened the flames allowing us to help Romain climb the hot barriers”. Wait a minute, “a very short window of time but enough to allow the pilot to get close to us. If they had come a few moments later … ”, concludes Roberts, Formula 1 medical officer since 2013. Twenty-eight seconds after the accident, Grosjean was miraculously safe.

the rescue

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After an initial medical check-up at the scene, Roberts and Van der Merwe accompanied the Haas pilot to the medical center: the French-Swiss was in pain, shortness of breath and pain from burns. He was immediately transferred to the hospital, the DBF Military Hospital, from which he will probably leave tomorrow Tuesday, according to Haas reports. “If we were 5 seconds later or Ian took 5 more seconds to decide how to intervene,” explained Van der Merwe (South African and former professional driver until 2009, when he got into the midsize car), “Grosjean’s fate could have been very different. ”.

ready for everything

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“Every day we review a series of interventions for each type of scenario. We try to establish a practice in case of fire or collision by range, but then the reality can always be different from what you tried to plan, “explained Roberts,” but training in the routine can reduce the margin of error. Everyone did their part and those few seconds saved a life.

who I am

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As mentioned, Ian Roberts has been an F1 medical officer at the circuit since 2013. British anesthetist, he was a helicopter rescuer and medical director of the Silverstone circuit for many years, before becoming health manager for the British GP. regardless of location). Alan van der Merwe, 40, from South Africa, is a former GT driver, with experience in British Formula 3 and the F.3000. He was the official BAR tester in 2005.