[blackwasp]

The Formula 1 cars had barely made it a third of the way around the track before the red flag brought a temporary halt to this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. The start of an F1 race is often chaotic, especially among the back half of the grid, and so it proved on Sunday when the Haas VF-20 driven by Romain Grosjean speared off track to the right after exiting turn three.

First-lap crashes aren't that unusual in the sport, unlike what happened next. After hitting the guardrail at about 137mph (220km/h), Grosjean's car ripped in half and then burst into flames—something that hasn't happened for over 30 years. To make matters worse, the front half penetrated between the guardrails that lined this section of track. As crashes go, this one was more reminiscent of the bad-old days of F1, the kind that claimed the lives of drivers like Roger Williamson or Francois Cevert.

But Grosjean walked away—understandably gingerly—with little more injury than some burns to his hands. And that is a testament to the safety that's designed into modern F1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvOxjvc0FoQ

While it is unusual to see a modern F1 car split in half after a collision, in this case, that was by design. Unlike the car you drive, which has an engine mounted inside a bay within the vehicle, in an F1 car, the engine is also a structural part that bolts to the carbon fiber monocoque chassis. And in extreme crashes—this one registered over 50Gs—those bolts will break and let the two halves go their separate ways to dissipate energy.

But other F1 drivers have had high-G impacts without their cars coming apart like this. The added factor in Sunday's crash was the car penetrating the guardrail barrier. As the nose of the car punched through, the monocoque traveled most of the way through and then stopped. While the monocoque had nowhere else to go, the rear half of the car, containing the engine, gearbox, and battery—and therefore most of the mass—was still going. That's why the bolts snapped and why the back half of the car can be seen, mostly intact, a few meters up the track.

Perhaps the most important safety device in yesterday's crash was the halo device, which was introduced to the sport in 2017 after a number of serious head injuries and fatal crashes among drivers in open-cockpit cars. It's the thing that looks like the upper part of a flip-flop, sprouting up from just ahead of the cockpit opening and wrapping around the sides to meet up with the airbox behind the driver's head.

Made from titanium and weighing about 20lbs (9kg), the halo has to survive an impact of 125kN without failing. It was widely panned by fans and even drivers—particularly Grosjean—when it was introduced in 2017, mostly because of the way it looked. But Grosjean's life was almost certainly saved by the halo, which prevented the top bar of the guardrail from making contact with his helmet, something that would almost certainly have been fatal.

Source

[libranof1987]

That crash is not for the faint-hearted; it may well continue to haunt those close to F1 drivers on the dangers of the sport for some time to come.

That said, there were several heroes that ensured Grosjean walked himself out of that crash relatively unscathed:

1) Halo: what a marvelous piece of engineering this has proved to be.

2) The driver suit: surviving that crash was only half the battle, walking out of the inferno was perhaps an even more daunting task. Reports say he was in that fireball for close to 10seconds! Here's what Redbull says about the driver suits:

Max Verstappen’s 2018 race attire is typical of suits worn by all modern drivers and pit crews. (FIA mandated that they should also adhere to the same rules as drivers in 1994.) The challenge in recent years, though, has been to maximise both protection and comfort. Long gone, then, are heavy, fiver-layer fire suits, replaced instead with lightweight and breathable layers of Nomex fabric that goes through a rigorous process of washing, drying and testing at 600 to 800 degrees Celsius. Everything, from zips, gloves and socks, to the thread tying it all together, must be able to withstand the same heat too. To further reduce the weight and bulk of race suits, sponsors’ logos are now printed on.

https://www.redbull.com/sg-en/an-ill...-F1-race-suits

3) Grosjean himself: reports say he experienced a force of 53G during the crash. To go through that, then be in a raging fire but still manage to extract yourself from the car and leap from the barrier is extraordinary situational awareness.

4) Dr Roberts and Medical Car driver Alan van der Merwe: first responders on the scene.

As a meme said, the true podium finishers of the Bahrain GP 2020 actually are:
1) Halo
2) Alan van der Merwe
3) Dr. Roberts

This said and done, I guess the main investigation would now turn to why and how the fuel tanks ruptured. They are built to withstand even bullets so what happened with Grosjean would perhaps lead to design changes making the F1 car even safer.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

2) The driver suit: surviving that crash was only half the battle, walking out of the inferno was perhaps an even more daunting task. Reports say he was in that fireball for close to 10seconds! Here's what Redbull says about the driver suits:

The suit was changed from this year and you can see the decision to make the suit more fireproof albeit heavier has paid off:

https://www.essentiallysports.com/f1...rain-gp-crash/

[Yusha]

This crash had me wondering that if Romain Grosjean had lost consciousness then it would have become extremely difficult to extricate him from the car without putting out the fire first which would have taken time. It could have been a disaster.

Apart from the race suit and the halo, the next big reason why he escaped with minor injuries is the fact that he was conscious. It is amazing that he did not faint even after such a high energy impact into the guard rails.

He was out of the car in 24 odd seconds.

[Hatari]

Really glad he is ok and applaud the FIA for safety measures that are in place.
The marshals did an amazing job reacting immediately.

But I am equally aghast at the move Grosjean pulled in cutting across the track into the Toro Rosso. The 3 cars in front has slowed down slightly, was not caused by sudden braking.

[myavu]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

This said and done, I guess the main investigation would now turn to why and how the fuel tanks ruptured. They are built to withstand even bullets so what happened with Grosjean would perhaps lead to design changes making the F1 car even safer.

As per Ross Brown, initial finding is that the fuel bag didn't rupture. It was the hose carrying fuel that got snapped when the rear got dislodged. Had the fuel bag been ruptured and 100 Kilos of fuel got ignited, it could have ended with something beyond imagination.
I was like watching everything live.

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

1) Halo
2) Alan van der Merwe
3) Dr. Roberts

To add to this list.
4) The HANS device which probably prevented him from blacking out. Without this he most definitely would have lost consciousness or could have been killed too.
5) The Track Marshalls, one of them was first on the scene with his fire extinguisher.

[AJITHAAA]

Grosjean had been toying with unruly driving for some time now and lucky it did not cost him much more than a few burns to his arms. It was his reckless chop across Kvyat that caused the accident. The safety cell did its job fantastically, lucky that the crash happened at turn 4 on the first lap, the medical car was right behind. The odds of this happening again are miniscule, but still investigation will be done for the cause of fire and probably a new safety regulation will be added. Which is a good thing.

[danlalan]

Originally Posted by AJITHAAA

Grosjean had been toying with unruly driving for some time now and lucky it did not cost him much more than a few burns to his arms. It was his reckless chop across Kvyat that caused the accident.

Very true, that was a blind lunge, a stupid move coming for a experienced F1 driver. Then again its romain things like these are expected. Hopefuly this jolts him out of stupid moves ever again. His move needs to be questioned first.

Originally Posted by AtheK

Hamilton Tests Covid positive, to miss next race

Hamilton will miss the next race as he tested covid positive bringing an end 265 consecutive starts, what a sad way to end the long run.

Wishing him a speedy recovery.

The exciting part is who will take up his seat. And how the race to P1 will pan out in the upcoming gp.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

That said, there were several heroes that ensured Grosjean walked himself out of that crash relatively unscathed:

You said it!

To walk out of that! What a testimony to the design and engineering that goes in to an F1 car and driver safety!

All the designers and engineers are the true champions of Formula 1 racing!

[rohitoasis]

Analysis by Jolyon Palmer on the Grosjean incident.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyTeDaiUL6s

Looks like Grosjean drove around like most of Indian traffic do with barely a worry about what is happening around.

[Aditya]

That was a really scary crash. I didn't know who had crashed when it happened because it was in the background on the TV screen. The moment I saw the fire, I was worried. If the driver is unconscious after the impact, it can be fatal. Here we have to thank the halo for keeping Romain's head safe from injury.

The developments that have taken place in Formula 1 with regard to safety have to appreciated. A big shout out to the guys in medical car and marshals who showed commitment and presence of mind in this situation. 10 years ago, we would have almost certainly lost a driver in such an accident.

It's really sad and unfortunate that we had to lose the young and talented Jules Bianchi the way we did.

Coming back to Grosjean, I think it is high time that he brings some discipline into his driving or stays off the track.

[satishv1987]

If not for the halo, Grosjean would have certainly been decapitated.

Helmut Koinigg , an Austrian driver was decapitated in the 1974 US GP after he crashed into the guardrails in a crash quite similar to Grosjean. This accident was portrayed in the movie "Rush".

[nishsingh]

Am more of a MotoGP guy myself, so knew nothing of the Halo device. But watching Grosjean walk out of that crash gave me goosebumps.

Here's a quick video for others like me who know nothing about the Halo device -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-3g...e=emb_err_woyt

[TrackDay]

Man to see him climbing out of that fire ! Engineering at it's finest !

I am so glad and happy that the halo could save his life along with the fire resistant suit. I hope some sort of this technology trickles down into our mass segment cars.