"I was 5 to 10 seconds from being dead": Romain Grosjean explains thought process during fiery 2020 crash
Romain Grosjean appeared on Nico Rosberg's podcast exactly a year after his horrific crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix to talk about the incident in detail. The 35-year-old said he was seconds away from dying in the first-lap incident.
An official crash report issued by the FIA revealed that Romain Grosjean's car was traveling at nearly 200kmph when it piled into the guardrail in Turn 3 and burst into flames.
There is a life before and after the crash in Bahrain, says Romain Grosjean...thank you for sharing your story and for explaining what changed since this terrifying moment. It's been a pleasure, Romain!
Check out our Podcast episode here: bit.ly/NRxGrosjean https://t.co/kU90txefSL
After a light-hearted conversation about the ex-Haas driver's career highlights, Nico Rosberg brought up the infamous accident from 2020. When asked if he was scared at any point, Grosjean said:
"No, I think not because between the touch with [Daniil] Kvyat and the impact, there's only like 0.6 seconds. So you don't really get the time to realize you're gonna hit the guardrail at that moment. Surprisingly, the 67G impact wasn't that bad for me, though 67G is a lot."
Romain Grosjean went on to describe his experience amid the flames. He said:
"At one point, I thought, you know, that was it. Game over. That's why I say, to me, I don't know, I was five or ten seconds from being dead. And eventually thought about my three kids and said, 'No, I can't leave them without a dad.' That's when I found the final energy to jump out of the car even though I could feel my hands burning. Normally when you touch something hot, you touch it and remove, but I had to keep my hands straight into the fire to get the grip."
Romain Grosjean retired from F1 after the race, having suffered severe burns to his hands along with an injured ankle.
Romain Grosjean changes mind about Halo device
Romain Grosjean was outspoken about his disdain for the Halo, a safety device introduced in the 2018 season. The Swiss-French driver had an aggressive stance against the device, and even said:
"We don’t need anything. I am against every Halo or Shield or whatever, it is not F1."
However, after his life-altering accident at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, the ex-Haas driver has completely changed his stance on the device, even saying that it is the greatest idea F1 has had in recent years.
An update from Romain himself. Pleased to see you’re in good spirits! We hope you make a speedy recovery 🙏 https://t.co/njnjjH4GBi
After retiring from F1, Romain Grosjean moved over to the IndyCar series in the US in 2021, bagging three podium finishes and a pole from 13 races.