When Romain Grosjean’s race ended at the Bahrain circuit on November 29, 2020, it was far from what anyone expected.
His Haas VF-20 was barreling down the track at 199 miles per hour when Daniil Kvyat collided with him. The force sent Grosjean’s vehicle careening into the guardrail, generating an astonishing 67 G-forces. For context, fighter pilots experience about 9 G-forces during intense maneuvers.
As the crash unfolded, Grosjean recognized what was happening, though it was a scenario he wasn’t entirely accustomed to. Crashing a $15 million racing car is indeed a part of the job in Formula One, but when the moment arrived in Bahrain, he resorted to his instinctual response.
“I closed my eyes and was so nervous,” he recalled. “Then I opened my eyes and everything was orange. This is not normal.”
His car was consumed by flames, and on top of that, the impact had split it in two.
“The gas cap broke, the gas leaked out and it exploded,” Grosjean explained. While he continues to race, he retired from F1 following this incident. Now, he’s set to commentate for the Las Vegas Grand Prix and participate in a fan event.
Reflecting on that near-fatal moment, Grosjean shared that he couldn’t grasp the reality of being inside a burning car for what felt like 27 seconds.
At least, he was grateful that his head remained intact.
This was due in large part to a titanium safety device known as the Halo, designed to protect drivers during serious crashes.
“If it hadn’t been for that, I would have been guillotined like the king of France,” the Swiss-French driver stated.
Grosjean is a family man, married and a father of three, and he confronted the terrifying reality that he was in a blazing inferno. He recounted thinking, “My body starts to relax, I feel at peace with myself, and I’m going to die.”
But then, thoughts of his family and his life began to sink in, urging him to fight for a way out.
Those seconds felt drawn out, almost like a minute and a half, as he tried to methodically plan his escape.
“There were a lot of fires. My brain put that information aside so I could focus on what was important: jumping out of the car,” he said.
Yet, his eyes were telling the story. “I had red gloves on,” he recalled. “They started getting darker and dirtier. You could tell they were burning.” He suffered second-degree burns on his hands from the ordeal.
As the situation grew increasingly desperate with temperatures reaching up to 1,800 degrees, Grosjean focused on escaping. “I pushed the bubbles over my head and was able to escape through the roof,” he described.
However, a challenge arose. When trying to climb out, his left leg wasn’t cooperating. “My foot got stuck,” he noted.
After some struggle, he finally managed to free himself and pushed up through the fiery wreckage, landing on the asphalt below. Emergency workers soon surrounded him, spraying foam to combat the flames.
What happened next caught many off guard. Video footage captured him walking away, albeit with only one boot. When medics offered him a stretcher, he chose to walk, showcasing his determination.
Remarkably, while he sustained burns on his hand, the rest of his body emerged relatively unscathed. He did break his knee and injure some ligaments.
Less than three months after the accident, following skin grafts and rehabilitation, Grosjean was back on the track, racing again by February 2021.
When asked if his wife tried to convince him to step back from racing, he responded negatively.
“I think she knew that if I did something different than what my heart wanted, I was probably going to be miserable,” he said, hinting at his dedication to the sport. His upcoming race is the prestigious annual 24-hour event at Daytona in January 2026.
“She’s given me the freedom to decide what I want to be. But she knows I’m doing my best to stay one.”
