Max on crash Grosjean: 'Enormous bang you hope never happens'
Published on 30 November 2020 by Kees-Jan Koster
The Bahrain Grand Prix was overshadowed by the horrific crash of Romain Grosjean, who in retrospect mordaciously escaped with ‘only’ burns on his hands. Everyone realises how lucky the French Haas driver has been and at the same time how safe modern Formula 1 cars are. The halo, not much liked in the early days, is now widely praised.
After a tumultuous start and red flagged for one and a half hours, the race got underway on the Sakhir circuit. World champion Lewis Hamilton won unthreatened, while Max Verstappen secured himself of second position. Through a FaceTime interview on the TV programme Peptalk, which is broadcasted every Monday evening at 19.50 on Ziggo Sport, the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver looks back on the race. “Grosjean’s crash was intense”, says Max who contacted his family during the red flag. “I facetimed my dad and sister and sent some messages.”
Max explains what he experienced: “When the race was red flagged and we were underway back to the pitlane, we saw the flames. That was the worst moment. At the time I did not know what had happened and if he was out of the car already. When we were in the pitlane, we saw the footage of Grosjean jumping out of the car. That is when you know he was relatively okay.”
Formula 1 is and will be a sport with a risk. Max: “Crashes do happen, we do not like that. This was an enormous bang, you hope never happens. Danger can be just around the corner.” The drivers are trained to get out of the car quickly, explains Max: “We have to be able to get out of the car within a couple of seconds and put the steering wheel back.” The latter is needed so marshals can move the car if needed.
Next weekend there is another race in Bahrain, with some changes in the layout of the circuit. This time the ultrafast ‘outer’ track of only 3.5 kilometre is used. When Max is asked what we can expect, he says: “Not so much. We do not have enough top speed, so that is it. It will be difficult for us.”
