At the end of the 2020 Formula One season, Haas driver Romain Grosjean suffered a terrifying accident at the Bahrain International Circuit. His car lodged between stretches of the Armco barrier, parted and ignited. It was one of the most violent shipwrecks we have seen in F1 in a long time and the FIA, the governing body of F1, has finally released a full report of what happened, including exactly what went wrong. .
He The International Automobile Federation (FIA) generally handles this research with care. Every time a driver is killed or seriously injured, or every time an accident is much more violent than most others we’ve seen recently, the FIA does an in-depth analysis of the cause and shares the report.
This is what the most recent report on the Grosjean incident said:
The car suffered significant damage during the impact, including the separation of the drive train assembly from survival. Che. The fuel tank inspection hatch on the left side of the chassis was dislodged and the engine’s fuel supply connection was ripped from the fuel tank’s “safety bladder”; both provide primary pathways for tank fuel leakage.
The driver’s safety equipment, including the helmet, HANS and safety harness, as well as the survival cell, seat, headrest and frontal protection of the Halo cab made in accordance with their specifications to protect the driver’s survival space and manage the forces applied to the driver during impact.
The battery of the high voltage energy recovery (ERS) system was significantly damaged, leaving some parts of the ERS battery assembly with the drive train and others remaining connected to the survival cell.
The fire broke out during the last moments of the impact of the barrier, starting at the back of the survival cell and progressing down the road.when the fire grew.
So basically, the FIA has confirmed what appeared to be just looking at the images of the crash: the car and all its safety measures seemed to be doing their job. The main problem here was the fact that the safety tank of the fuel tank broke on impact, which was what caused the fire.
That said, there are a lot of things the FIA will study after the Grosjean wreck, including:
- Changes to the fuel bladder and / or fuel type
- The steering column as it caught Grosjean’s left foot in the early part of the crash
- Mounting the power unit
- Headrest position, specifically in case of fire
- Improvements in fireproof gloves
- Railing improvements
- Better barriers
- More efficient firefighting options
Therefore, basically, any part of the accident that did not work as planned will be investigated firmly, with future updates and improvements.
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Racing is an intrinsically dangerous sport and there is always the chance of a shock that defies expectations. But the FIA does a damn good job making sure these accidents don’t happen again.