Romain Grosjean’s car remains from fiery crash in Bahrain to be on display at F1 Exhibition

The remains from Romain Grosjean’s car which caught fire at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix will be on display at the new F1 Exhibition in Madrid next month.

The French driver collided with the barrier in November 2020 and his Haas car instantaneously split in half and was engulfed in flames, with Grosjean unable to pull himself from the wreckage for 28 seconds.

However, miraculously, Grosjean escaped the cockpit and only suffered second-degree burns, with the halo device introduced in 2018 widely attributed with saving his life.

Now the burnt-out chassis from the Haas VF-20 car will be on display at the F1 Exhibition at IFEMA MADRID, which opens on 24 March.

Hosted in a purpose-built room titled ‘Survival’, there will also be previously unseen footage of the crash and Grosjean - now racing in IndyCar - shares his personal recollection of the harrowing incident.

“From my point of view, it was a big accident but I didn’t realise the impact or how violent it was from the outside,” Grosjean recalls.

“It was only the next day when I asked someone to show me what it looked like that I realised. My wife was actually watching that race with my dad and my kids.

“They will remember that moment their entire life. They were just spectators waiting to hear something… waiting to see something from Bahrain.”

“I had to break the headrest, punching it with my helmet and then I eventually managed to get my helmet through and stand up in the seat.

“I realised my left foot was stuck into the chassis and I pulled as hard as I could on my left leg. My shoe stayed in the chassis but my foot came loose so I was free to exit the car.”

“It was 120 kilos of fuel plus the battery - both were on fire. Dr Jan Roberts, Alan from the medical car and one fireman were trying to open a gap in the fire to help me get out. I believe that helped me at least to get a vision of where I had to go and where the exit was.”

“The survival cell is there for you in case of a huge impact. I was intact inside the shell. 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.”

Grosjean was dropped from his race-seat at the end of the 2020 season and now drives for Andretti Autosport in IndyCar.