Hamilton uses crash to remind observers of dangers lurking in Formula 1.
SAKHIR, Bahrain—November 29th—Sunday night’s Formula 1 race at the Bahrain International Circuit was anything but routine. Yes, Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton picked up another win at the Bahrain Grand Prix. There’s nothing unusual about a Mercedes and Hamilton win. But this race will always be known for an incredible crash that very well could have given Romain Grosjean serious injuries or, heaven forbid, could have taken his life.
Hamilton took the lead in the first few corners of the race. But at turn three, Haas driver Grosjean cut across the Alpha Tauri driven by Dani Kvyat, striking the Russian, jumping over him, and heading full speed into the turn-three barrier. His car broke in half, sliced the fuel cell, and burst into flames.
The barrier itself had a huge hole in it when the car split, and Grosjean jumped out of the car and leaped into one of the arms of the medical staff. Grosjean was assisted into the ambulance, which took him to the nearest hospital by helicopter to Manama’s capital.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ7_En2xEm4
The encouraging news is that Grosjean ended up with minor burns on his hands and feet and possibly with broken ribs.
In the race itself, the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon finished second and third.
As for the crash, Hamilton reminded everyone that this is a dangerous business. “It was such a shocking image to see,” he commented. “The thing is, when we arrive, we know we are taking risks, and I respect the danger in this sport. It’s horrifying. I don’t know what G-force he pulled, but I am grateful the halo worked, and the barrier didn’t slice it’s head off. This is a dangerous sport, and we are taking it to the limit and playing with the limit, but we have to respect it.”
The delay brought the red flag out so that marshals could fix the major damage that was done, cutting a section of the barriers out and replacing it with a concrete temporary one. The delay took 45 minutes before the race once again resumed.
When the start resume, Kvyat was involved again. He made contact with Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, striking the car on the right side as the Canadian tried to beat him to the turn. Kvyat struck Stroll on his right side and flipped him upside down, producing a safety car while the marshals assisted Stroll out of the car, unhurt.
The race had not even reached five laps, and already two incidents have happened. But once the race resumed for the third time, it was a charm as the field began to race with plenty of passing involved.
Hamilton never had too much trouble despite pitting three times during the race. It looked certain that Sergio Perez, who had been running in third most of the night, could get on the podium at this circuit for the first time in six years. But Perez would be disappointed when–only laps from the finish–his Mercedes engine quit on him. That ruined Racing Point’s chances to stay third in the constructor’s world championship as both he and Stroll did not finish the race.
With the race finishing up behind the safety car (thanks to the marshals pushing Perez’s car out of danger), Racing Point is now 17 points in fourth behind McLaren, the team that finished with Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. taking fourth and fifth, respectively. Renault was also in the mix, finishing seventh and ninth with Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon. But the French team did not take enough points to leap over Racing Point and remains fifth overall.
For the remainder of the top ten finishes on this night, Pierre Gasly was sixth in the second Alpha Tauri, and Hamilton’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas, took a disappointing eighth following an early puncture. Charles Leclerc finished his Ferrari in tenth, and for it he got a well-deserved point following a very bad race.
Hamilton reflected on how difficult it was to stay focused. “It really was physically very demanding. In that 45-minute break [for the red flag], it is very easy to step out of the zone. But getting back in, they [Red Bull] had a lot of speed today, so I was flat-out trying to keep them at bay. I managed to reply to him when I needed to, but I was sliding around a lot, and I did not know how it would play out at the end.”
The Formula 1 season continues next weekend at the same circuit with the running of the Sakhir Grand Prix.
