In the first lap, after some contact with Daniel Poetry and his Haas car, after the third corner, Grossgen jumped off the track, exploded on impact and broke in half.
The French driver miraculously came out of the flames a few seconds later and was immediately rescued by Track Side Emergency Services.
“He’s doing it right, burning on his hands and ankles,” Haas team coach Guether Steiner told Sky Sports. “Obviously shaken up and goes through all the checks needed after this kind of impact. He’s conscious.”
Haas’s team added on Twitter: “As a precaution and for further medical evaluation, Rome will be moved to the hospital.”
Sky Sports estimated that there was a time of 18-20 seconds between the point of impact and the grozion emanating from the flames. The wrecked and fractured front half of the car, from which Grozian managed to escape on his own, was embedded in track side obstacles.
“I’ve never seen such a fire in 12 years,” medical car driver Alan Van der Merwe told Sky Sports. “That’s when Romain just started to get out of the car, which is pretty much after an incident like this.
“It just goes to show all the systems, halo, barriers, seat belts, everything worked as it should. Without a single thing it could have had a very different result.”
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton wrote on Twitter: “I am so thankful that Roman is safe. Wow … the risk we take is no joke, get out there and forget that we put our lives on the line “Thanks to the FIA for the game and for what we choose to do. Thanks to the FIA for the great steps we’ve taken to keep Rome safe.”
Grossen made his Formula One debut in 2009 and joined the American Haas team in 2016, although he is set to leave at the end of the current season. The 34-year-old has finished 10 podiums in his career.
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