Looks like he hit the armco at just the right angle to puncture it. The back half of his car sheared off & the monocoque stayed wedged in there. Looks like he was engulfed in flames for around 20 seconds! Talk about adrenaline.
Massive F1 Crash in Bahrain, Roman Grojean Escapes Burning Car
- Thread starter qslim
- Start date
Westbrook
TJ Enthusiast
This was insane to see live and it just gets crazier with more and more video angles. They said he was in the cockpit for 18 seconds after the crash and as they pointed out it's a good thing he didn't lose consciousness or if he did it wasn't for very long. Amazing to hear that so far its just burns to his hands and ankles where the gloves and boots meet the suit and maybe a few broken ribs. I haven't watched F1 for long but the Halo is just normal to me, it sure did its job today.
OP
You ain’t lyin. I’ve been watching F1 since the Schumacher days, haven’t ever seen anything like that. I was watching it live this morning & woke my family up shouting “holy shit!”. Absolutely incredible between the halo, the fact he crashed right where workers were, and most of all the fact it was on the opening lap where the medical car was still right behind them.
Brianj5600
TJ Expert
Another thing that saved him was the drivers safety cell. It looked absolutely it intact. If the safety cell would have collapsed it would have been much worse. All teams have to submit a chassis to the FIA for crash test.
OP
OP
Great news! That was a horrific crash and probably the worst of its kind since Gerhard Berger had a similar fire in the late '80s. I've followed F1 since the mid '60s and can remember when you could be within 5' of the cars in the paddock. I've attended events where racers have died and have seen many more on TV. It used to be expected every year but fortunately those days are over. It's a shock when something like this happens now and a testament to just how far car and track safety has come. Seeing that titanium halo pretty much intact after the crash proved just how effective they are. Grojean would not have survived without it.
Brianj5600
TJ Expert