At the end of the 2020 Formula 1 season, Haas driver Romain Grosjean suffered a terrifying crash at the Bahrain International Circuit. His car got stuck between parts of the Armco barrier, split apart and caught fire. It was one of the more violent wrecks we’ve seen in F1 in a long time, and the FIA, F1’s governing body, has finally released a full report of what happened – including exactly what went wrong.
The The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) usually handles these investigations with care. Every time a driver is killed or seriously injured – or every time a crash is far more violent than most we’ve seen recently – the FIA conducts an in-depth analysis of the cause and shares the report.
Here’s what the most recent report on Grosjean’s incident had to say:
The car sustained extensive damage during the collision, including disconnecting the drivetrain from the survival cell. The fuel tank inspection hatch on the left side of the chassis has come loose and the engine fuel supply connection has been torn from the fuel tank ‘safety bladder’; both provide primary pathways for fuel escape from the tank.
The driver’s safety equipment, including helmet, HANS and safety harness, as well as the survival cell, seat, headrest and Halo front cockpit protection performed to their specifications in protecting the driver’s survival space and controlling the forces acting on the driver during the collision were exercised.
The Energy Recovery System (ERS) high voltage battery was significantly damaged, with some parts of the ERS battery assembly left with the powertrain and others attached to the survival cell.
Fire was ignited during the final moments of the barrier impact, starting from the back of the survival cell and progressing forwardcomes to the driver as the fire grows.
So basically the FIA confirmed what appeared to be the case just by looking at the footage of the accident: the car and all its safety precautions seemed to be doing their job. The main problem here was the fact that the fuel tank’s safety bladder had ruptured on impact, resulting in the fire.
That said, there are tons of things the FIA is going to look into after the Grosjean wreck, including:
- Changes in the fuel bladder and / or fuel type
- The steering column, as it pinched Grosjean’s left foot during the first part of the accident
- Power unit mounting
- Headrest position, especially in case of fire
- Improvements to fireproof gloves
- Guardrail improvements
- Better barriers
- More efficient fire extinguishing options
So basically any part of the crash that didn’t perform as intended will be thoroughly investigated, with upgrades and improvements in the future.
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Racing is an inherently dangerous sport and there is always the possibility of a crash taking place that defies expectations. But the FIA is doing a damn good job of making sure those accidents aren’t repeated.