Grosjean: Bahrain replays too much for drivers

Tom Rawcliffe
Romain Grosjean injuries

Romain Grosjean reportedly set to sign IndyCar deal.

Romain Grosjean thinks the footage shown after his Bahrain horror crash was “too much” for his fellow drivers to see, but has stressed the importance of showing such images.

The footage of the Frenchman’s car being split in half and going up in flames before he emerged from the Haas car relatively unscathed is a sight Formula 1 fans will not forget for a long time.

Formula 1, at first, delayed the showing of replays before they knew the extent of his injuries. But once Grosjean had exited his car miraculously with minor injuries, they decided the videos were okay to be shown.

Not only did the images go worldwide to spectators sat at home, but they were displayed on TV screens all around the pit lane where drivers were anxiously waiting to see if the Haas driver was okay.

Daniel Ricciardo was especially angry at the decision to display such images, saying it was “f***ing with everyone’s emotions”.

While Grosjean agreed to an extent, he thinks drivers can learn a thing or two from seeing the footage.

“You can understand both sides. I think for the drivers it was too much to see the footage at that moment,” said Grosjean, quoted by Motorsport Total.

“I think it all needs to be investigated, but in the future I’m not against this footage being broadcast. This way we can educate every racing driver on how to behave in such a moment.”

“Of course, there are rules about when and how we share them. But I hope one day we can work with it and educate everyone. I’ve already joked with Ayao Komatsu, the Haas chief engineer, that if I were to return to Formula 1, I wouldn’t need to do an exit test. After all, I’m the king of it!”

Get your hands on the official Haas collection via the Formula 1 store

The wait to return to the track was an understandably difficult one for all drivers concerned, perhaps none more so than Grosjean’s team-mate Kevin Magnussen who later went to see the injured driver in hospital.

Grosjean said: “Although he saw me get out of the car, his thought was ‘it can’t be possible that he remains alive after this impact’.

“As far as I remember, that was the biggest accident I’ve ever seen. For the guys who have to get back in the car and see this over and over again, it’s very, very hard.

“On the other hand, you can also understand Formula 1. It’s extraordinary footage and I understand that. It takes a long time to rebuild the barriers and it’s important for the audience to understand and process that and see me jumping out of the car over and over again.

“It’s not a dream, it’s not fake, it’s not imagination. So I understand both sides. And obviously on Monday morning, all over the world, in every newspaper, you saw on the front page the pictures of Romain Grosjean on fire and just getting out. In that sense, I think it was significant.”

Follow us on Twitter @Planet_F1, like our Facebook page and join us on Instagram!