22 Feb 2023

F1 fireball crash car on display

4:46 am on 22 February 2023
French driver Romain Grosjean had a miraculous escape from a fiery first-lap crash that ripped his car in two during the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2020.

Photo: AFP

The burned-out wreckage of Romain Grosjean's 2020 fireball crash in Bahrain is to go on display for the first time next month as part of a Formula One exhibition in Madrid.

The French driver scrambled through the flames to safety in a miraculous escape after his Haas car, with a full fuel load, crashed on the opening lap at the Sakhir circuit and speared through the metal barrier.

His last recorded speed before hitting the barrier was 221kph.

The remains of the chassis, which split in half on impact, has been kept under wraps for the past three years but will be placed in a dedicated room titled 'survival' with previously unreleased footage of the crash.

"The chassis is still in one piece, the halo is there and apart from the damage and burn it is still as it should be. I guess that saved my life," said Grosjean, who had burns to his hands after taking 28 seconds to escape the blaze.

The ticketed exhibition, which opens on 24 March, looks at the past, present and future of the sport and is being staged in association with Formula One.

-Reuters