Publications
• Romain Grosjean escaped from a fiery crash with burns to his hands after his Haas Formula 1 car split in two on impact.
• The Frenchman was competing in the Bahrain Grand Prix when he hit the barrier at the exit of Turn 3 at 220km/h.
• The car's fuel lines snapped causing an explosion that engulfed the driver in flames.
The Halo, fire resistant suits, and high tech helmets designed to limit horrific injuries in this high-octane sport.
Romain Grosjean's horror crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix is shining the spotlight on Formula 1's safety measures. We look at the equipment that helped save the Haas driver's life.
The Frenchman suffered burns to his hands, and no broken bones. He will miss this weekend's race at the same venue.
The Haas driver was in the car for 28 seconds from the time of impact to exiting the car.
Since 1950, F1 has been the pinnacle of motorsport as man and machine race at high speeds. Many may not know, but marshals have been part of the sport since its inception.
The marshals who helped extinguish the fire on Sunday are trained in first-aid and fire-handling.
Helmets only became mandatory in 1953, drivers originally wore cloth caps and goggles for protection.
Grosjean said the visor on his helmet turned orange as the flames swarmed around his car. Footage of the aftermath shows the visor suffered serious damage, but his helmet was intact despite experiencing a crash that recorded a force of over 50g.
Modern F1 helmets are fitted with carbon-fibre shells.
In 1975, fire-resistant racing suits were introduced. The real game-changer for protection against fire is Nomex.
Drivers and nearly all the pit crews, rescue teams and track officials who work in the presence of potential flash fires depend on Nomex. It protects them from intense heat and flame, provides the valuable seconds they need to escape fires and minimizes the potential for burn injury.
The lightweight material can withstand temperatures of up 800 degrees celcius for more than 11 seconds.
The medical safety car driven by former South African racer, Alan van der Merwe, was on the scene within seconds of the crash due to it occurring so early in the race. Alongside Van der Merwe is the FIA's medical doctor, Dr Ian Roberts.
The pair were quickly on the scene and helped the marshals create a pathway for Grosjean to escape the inferno. Van der Merwe tweeted on Sunday (29 Nov): "On a day like today, I am thankful to be working with Ian, and to be standing on the shoulders of giants like Charlie and Sid."
"So happy that Romain is well. It makes all the preparation (and sitting around!) worthwhile for those 30 short seconds," he said.
In 2018, F1 introduced the Halo safety device. It adds protection for the driver in the event of an impact and also to create a barrier for debris that could hit the driver.
Another innovative safety device introduced in 2018 is biometric gloves. These aren't ordinary gloves as they have biometric sensors that transmit a driver's pulse and blood oxygen levels to race control.
It gave Ian Roberts vital information in how to treat Grosjean once he was retrieved from the fire. Although it's not know if the sensors were damaged by the fire.
