Bahrain, Nov 29 The Bahrain Grand Prix was temporarily halted on Sunday shortly after the start of the first lap as Haas driver Romain Grosjean suffered a horrific crash that left his car in flames and sliced in two.
The broadcast showed Grosjean's car swerving at high speed into the barriers to the right of the straight just two corners into the race.
The impact created a fireball and the car split in half, with one part consisting of the cockpit wedged into the barrier, burst into flames. Incredibly, Grosjean, 34, emerged from his cockpit before being rescued by nearby marshals.
"Romain is doing okay, I don't want to make a medical comment but he had light burns on his hands and ankles. Obviously he's shaken... I want to thank the rescue crews who are very quick. The marshals and FIA people they did a great job, it was scary," said Haas team principal Guenther Steiner shortly after the incident.
"The driver was immediately attended to by emergency and medical crews. The driver self-extricated, and was conscious at all times. He was taken to the medical centre before being transferred to Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) Hospital by helicopter where he is undergoing further evaluation," the FIA later said in its statement.
Grosjean was shown on television chatting with the race doctor in the medical car moments after he escaped the inferno. Haas later tweeted that the Frenchman has "some minor burns on his hands and ankles but otherwise he is ok".
They later said that he had been transported to a hospital as a precaution and for further medical evaluation.
( With inputs from IANS )
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