F1 | FIA Outlines Investigation To Grosjean Crash
The FIA opened up an investigation into Haas driver, Romain Grosjean's violent fiery crash in the Bahrain Grand Prix which is expected to take up two months.
Last Sunday, with only burns on the back of both hands, Gorsjean somehow survived one of the worst F1 crashes in recent memory, after his car pierced a barrier on the opening lap, split in two and became engulfed in flames.
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It was instantly clear that numerous FIA safety developments played vital roles in helping Grosjean surivive the crash itself and then the flames, and escape to safety, including the strength of the monocoque, the performance of the halo driver protection system and the integrity of reinforced fireproof racewear.
However, as per normal practie, an in-depth investigation will follow, with the FIA safety department reviewing about 30 serious circuit racing incidents a year.
The FIA states that data collection would be at the heart of the investigation and use various video sources, such as the 400-frames-per-second driver-facing camera to "disclose" what happens to him during the accident in slow motion
The movement of Grosjean's head in the collision will be measured by in-ear accelerometers moulded to fit within a driver's ear canal, while the in-car accident data recorder will show precise information about speed and intensity
An evaluation of competitor safety equipment such as the helmet, the HANS device, the safety belt, protective clothing, the survival cell, the headrest, the in-car fire extinguisher system and the halo will be part of the investigation.
The efficiency of the chassis integrity and safety barrier will also be evaluated to understand the implications of the effect of that energy and trajectory, which Haas said was more than 50g. Among those to raise serious concern about how the barrier broke apart and allowed Grosjean's monocoque to end up lodged between the railings was Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel
After medical car driver Alan van der Merwe and medical delegate Dr Ian Roberts played an original role in trying to calm the flames and help Grosjean escape, the role of the track marshals and medical intervention team will also be looked at.
FIA comments, "the investigation is expected to take around 6-8 weeks to complete before findings are made public"
FIA will add information to their world accident database which " “enables researchers to study individual accident cases and when considered collectively, the statistics generated are used to identify frequently occurring risk factors and prioritise research projects”.
FIA Safety Director Adam Baker said, "As with all serious accidents, we will analyse every aspect of this crash and collaborate with all parties involved. With so much data available in Formula 1, it allows us to accurately determine every element of what occurred and this work has already begun. We take this research very seriously and will follow a rigorous process to find out exactly what happened before proposing potential improvements.”
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Grosjean was released from hospital on Wednesday and plans to return for the season finale in Abu Dhabi, which is likely to be his farewell to F1.
He posted a video of the initial response of the F1 medical team to his accident on Wednesday, calling it 'incredible' and praising the efforts of those involved
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The Haas driver commented, "Look at the professionalism of the fireman, trying to keep the fire away from me in the car,”
To add, "Look at the action on Ian Roberts and his involvement. I told him he was a hero, he went into the fire as much as he could to save me. Finally, this is also the moment I realised I was going to live. Extracting my body from the chassis. Yes it burned me and yes it was painful but that’s nothing compared to the relief I felt as soon as I could get up. I felt Ian’s hands pulling me over the barrier and knew I was safe. I remember every second of it and life will never be the same again, but I’m sure for the best. I met with death and that is the worst feeling I ever had. But I'm alive and will enjoy every second of life and every small win in a much better way from now on"
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