The Bahrain Grand Prix was held on 29th November 2020, in Sakhir, Bahrain. By this time, Lewis Hamilton was announced as 7th world champion, including Mercedes AMG F1 winning their 7th consecutive constructor championship. Everything seemed pretty normal until the first lap of the race…
After Turn 3, Haas driver Romain Grosjean and AlphaTauri driver Daniil Kyvat touched, which resulted in Grosjean’s car smashing into the barrier, causing a huge fireball. The race was suspended with immediate effect.
I still remembered my jaw literally dropped, and I shouted very loud at home. Everyone came to check on me, and they were severely shaken after viewing the replay. It was a horrible crash, and no one saw that coming. I could see all the drivers (especially Renault driver Daniel Riccardo)and staff members were in disbelief. According to the commentators, there has not been an incident with fireball for almost 12 years until this race.
Within a few seconds, Grosjean was climbing out and over the barrier and was rushed toward the medical car. Meanwhile, the marshalls were putting out the fire and later fixing the barrier, which resulted in an hour delay. Despite the unimaginable accident, Grosjean only suffered hand burns – a testimony to huge improvement on safety. If this happened five years ago, his chance of surviving that crash would be minimal. The debates on Halo should be over now. It had already saved multiple drivers in a short period.
While this crash was, unfortunately, the main highlight of the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, there was another crash, involving Racing Point driver Lance Stroll and AlphaTauri driver Daniil Kyvat (again). It was a racing incident that caused Stroll’s car to flip upside down, which remind me of Hulkenburg “hanging like a cow” situation.
I like go-karting because of the speed and adrenaline, but this race had reminded me that motorsports are dangerous.
WTF1 had released a video on how Grosjean had survived the crash. Here you go.