“That saved my life” - When former F1 driver Romain Grosjean braved a horrifying fireball incident that trapped him for 28 seconds

In 2020, former F1 driver Romain Grosjean was involved in a dangerous fireball crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix. His Haas F1 car went through a barrier at over 130 mph, split in half and the cockpit was engulfed in flames.

The frightful sight sent shockwaves across the sport as utter distress was visible on the faces of everybody in the paddock and the grandstands. For half a minute, there was no update on the situation as the marshals fought the fire.

Then-Haas F1 boss Guenther Steiner's thought at the moment, as he explained in Netflix's 'Drive to Survive' documentary later was:

"You don't think that anybody can get alive out of this one"

After 28 long seconds, Romain Grosjean came out of the flaming cockpit, unscathed, barring a few second-degree burns on his hands. Three years after the crash, the burned and wrecked part of his car's chassis was put on display in Madrid.

Speaking about the incident, Grosjean said in 2023 (via Sky Sports),

"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,"

The "halo" is a mandatory safety feature introduced by the FIA in 2018 for all FIA-sanctioned racing series - F1, F2, and FE. Since its arrival, the halo has shown its utility by saving the lives of several drivers involved in dangerous crashes.

According to several F1 team bosses and drivers, Romain Grosjean was very lucky to emerge out of that crash alive.

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When Romain Grosjean explained how he maneuvered out of the inferno

F1 Grand Prix of Sakhir - Previews - Source: Getty

In addition to being surrounded by flames and smoke, Romain Grosjean was in a near-immovable position inside the cockpit. The now-IndyCar driver's initial attempts at coming out were futile, reminding him of F1 legend Niki Lauda's fiery crash at the 1976 German GP, as he shared in 2020.

He also spoke about thoughts of dying in that fire being in his mind, before the thoughts of his kids and family helped him to renew his escape efforts.

A few days after recovering from the crash, the French-Swiss driver said (via F1.com),

"Then I think about my kids, and I say 'No, they cannot lose their Dad today'. So I don’t know why I did what I did but I decided to turn my helmet on the left-hand side and to go up like this and try and twist my shoulder, that sort of works, but then I realize my foot is stuck in the car so I sit back down, pull as hard as I can on my left leg, the shoe stayed where my foot was but my foot came out of the shoe, and then I do it again and the shoulders are going through and the time the shoulder was through I know I’m going to jump out."

That night in Bahrain also marked Romain Grosjean's last F1 race before he left Haas to drive in the NTT IndyCar Series.

In 2024, driving for Juncos Hollinger Racing, he finished P17 in the championship with 260 points. With JHR facing financial troubles, Grosjean's chance of competing in 2025 remains uncertain.