Formula One, Grosjean’s Haas destroyed by flames on display

A completely destroyed car. A scorched shell. Or rather, what’s left of it. The “highlight” of the first official exhibition of the is impressive Formula Onewhich will be held in the IFEMA exhibition space in Madrid, Spain, starting next March 24th.

A completely charred heirloom

Among the audiovisual and interactive shows that will animate the six rooms, designed in collaboration with internationally renowned artists, directors and craftsmen, the relic that will surely remain in the memory of all visitors is a completely charred single-seater: it is what remains of the Haas VF-20 with which in Bahrain Grand Prix of 2020 Romain Grosjeannow 36 years old, was involved in a terrible accident.

The impact, the fire, the miracle

In the first lap of the race, that 29 November, his car collided with the Russian’s AlphaTauri Daniil Kvyat, hit the guardrail at 178 km/h, broke apart and immediately caught fire. The section with the passenger compartment safety cell remains stuck in the metal barrier, engulfed in flames. Grosjean – who was saved from the impact thanks to the halo, the curved bar placed to protect the driver’s head – did not lose consciousness but remained in the fire for 28 seconds, with one foot stuck. Then he managed to take off his shoe and get out of the single-seater on his own legs, to be immediately rescued by the medical car. For him only the burns on his hands, which cost him the two final races of the season, the last for him in Formula One before moving on to all’IndyCar.

Grosjean’s new nickname

Since that day Romain Grosjean has been nicknamed The Phoenix (“The Phoenix”), because he is able to be reborn from the ashes. But the legend has nothing to do with it here. It was science that saved his life, a “feat” that is still hard to believe when looking at the photos of the current state of the car driven by the Frenchman that day, published as a preview by Formula 1 to launch the Madrid exhibition.

The message behind the exhibition

Formula 1 has decided to publicly exhibit that completely charred single-seater to make all motor enthusiasts understand how many steps forward a sport that has cost the lives of so many of its protagonists in past years has made in terms of safety. Never a choice was more guessed.