Burnt-out remains of Romain Grosjean’s F1 car from Bahrain crash to go on display
By George Ramsay, CNN
The wreckage of Romain Grosjean’s Formula One car from his crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix will be displayed at an exhibition in Madrid next month.
Grosjean was trapped in the flaming car for 28 seconds after colliding with the track wall at close to 120 miles per hour.
He eventually managed to climb out of the car in what would be the Frenchman’s final act as an F1 driver.
After recovering from the burns he sustained in the crash, Grosjean has transitioning to other forms of motorsport and will compete in the Indy 500 for the second time later this year.
The burn-out chassis of his Haas car from the Bahrain GP will form part of the world’s first Formula 1 Exhibition in the Spanish capital, which opens on March 24.
The display will be accompanied by a video installation showing unseen footage from the crash, as well as an interview with Grosjean recounting the experience.
“From my point of view, it was a big accident, but I didn’t realize the impact or how violent it was from the outside,” Grosjean says in the interview.
“It was only the next day when I asked someone to show me what it looked like that I realized. My wife was actually watching that race with my dad and my kids. They will remember that moment their entire life. They were just spectators waiting to hear something… waiting to see something from Bahrain.”
After the incident, debate ensued about the safety of F1 drivers during serious crashes.
Speaking to CNN Sport two years ago, Grosjean acknowledged that the halo, the mandatory protection device fitted on F1 cars, saved his life.
“I was one of the guys against the halo. I didn’t like it,” he said.
“I didn’t think it was great for motorsport. I must say I changed my mind big time and that I won’t race a car with no halo because it’s saving our lives.”
In order to escape the flames, Grosjean had to break the headrest with his helmet and pull hard with his trapped foot to remove it from the chassis. After freeing himself, he was transported to the hospital and treated for burns on his hands and ankles.
Grosjean ended his F1 career with 10 podiums from 179 race starts, and since 2021 has raced in IndyCar with Dale Coyne Racing and, more recently, Andretti Autosport.
He placed 13th in last season’s IndyCar series and 31st in his debut Indy500.
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