The astonishing details from F1’s Grosjean crash investigation, and what changes are coming

[@philmcmahon9450]

What amazes me is that even though the medical team they prepare for all scenarios, the frequency of something like this is so low. The fact that they saw it and immediately acted upon it knowing exactly what to do is amazing. Well done to them

[@DJShadesUK]

What did you think they were gonna do, pull up and have a smoke while opening up their Big Crash Manual to find the "Burny Fire" chapter?! The medical car team will probably perform drills *every* race weekend to keep on top of their operational procedures. Frankly your somewhat patronising tone suggesting it is "amazing" that the guys "saw it and immediately acted upon it" because they don't do it very often massively downplays their hard work and dedication to their roles. To be honest I'm surprised you didn't thrown in a claim of "God", "Jesus" or a "miracle" having something to do with Grosjeans survival just to add insult to injury.

[@philmcmahon9450]

@@DJShadesUK you’re missing my point. I’m full of praise for them to have done what they did so excellently under immense pressure. Don’t be so salty

[@carfreak290]

@@DJShadesUK you misread this commment completely.. its been seen time and time again that safety/marshals can definitely become "rusty" and seeing this team come to action and execute near perfectly shows how good they were. that was his point. he never implied that there was a miracle, he said they were very well trained and practiced.

[@devandrasimanjuntak1646]

@@DJShadesUK you know, you’d be surprised. I’ve seen a lot of people do protocols for fire safety, but when the actual fire comes they didn’t do a good job despite their rigorous training, all because of a little thing called fear and unexpectedness.

[@abdelhak961]

@@DJShadesUK what a complete knobhead

[@jacobbrassard2776]

It's good that It didn't take a death this time for safety to improve.

[@firelynx1108]

unlike senna, earnhardt, bianchi, and wheldon

[@core_russell3869]

@@kyf_ this is not the place to do it

[@Gatotsu2009]

I think you are a bit harsh. Since Senna, FIA has been pushing to review accidents to know what they can improve. You can minimize the risks but cant make the sport bulletproof. For example after Schumahcer accident during 1999 British GP (broken leg and monocoque damage) they made improvements that shows during Kubica´s accident 2007 Canada GP (minor ankle injury) despite Kubica´s crash been directly against the wall with no tyre wall.

[@firelynx1108]

@@Gatotsu2009 no as in it took them until a death with those wrecks before they truly did something big

[@JackPecker911]

Yes I'm glad they took immediate action

[@joshcraven9781]

The fact that he got out with minimal injuries is still astonishing. He is a very lucky man. I wish him the best of luck, hoping he didn't use it all up of course.

[@vedantagrawal3341]

Moreover, the safety standards of formula 1 plays far more role than just luck.

[@watersnortmoment3734]

@@vedantagrawal3341 There was a lot of luck involved in his crash, if his car was angled even a couple degrees to either side, he'd have been trapped, same with if he had been only a couple centimeters back he'd have been trapped.

[@helixworld]

@@vedantagrawal3341 Its lucky he was conscious after a 67G impact, and that his escape path was not obstructed. Its also lucky he could pull his foot out of the racing boot before being more seriously burned.

[@bobfels5343]

Hehe and now he goes for indycar, thats where you need luck to survive

[@watersnortmoment3734]

@@bobfels5343 At least he isn't pushing it too far by doing ovals.

[@Bozza36]

This actually shows how well Grosjean did to escape that crash. Props to everyone involved.

[@samuelvanlane]

Yup. When I watched his interview he said he tried 3 times and couldn't get out he had to turn his helmet and pull himself up I saw exactly the reason why in this. Glad the man's okay.

[@nathanrupert8514]

Why dont they have a cockpit fire supression system? Seems like a dry chem bath over their layers of protective clothing would allow at least some fire free time to escape. Back of the car be damned, let it burn.

[@tmashadi]

Very glad he did so well to get out. Now, If he was half as good in actual driving he'd be up there with some of the greats. Glad he is healthy, and glad he is finally...finally out of F1 and hope to never see him in F1 again.

[@MEchanicAL_LSTAR]

@@nathanrupert8514 F1 cars do have a fire suppression system. Most times there is a fire the driver will only activate it at the last moment to try and save the car as they exit. I worked on an ALMS team and had a “thermal incident” during a race and the driver is more focused to get themselves out of the car, most of the time they’ve just been shaken by an accident and are disorientated but the flight response kicks in and they get themselves out of the situation.

[@henkdekraai5290]

Fortunaly the halo just didn't trap him as you take a closer look, we was lucky to actually escape.

[@gregorysmall9284]

The thought that a few inches and he would have been trapped by the barrier is terrifying!

[@ethunter2413]

*centimeters

[@evog35viii]

@@ethunter2413 Stop it

[@scottlarson1652]

BAN Armco now. Use the wall like indy uses

[@ropermav]

Trapped by the halo. Nobody talks about that, but it’s true

[@bobbatons1720]

@@ropermav How do you know it? Until now everyone says he was saved thanks to HALO

[@averytatavitto9333]

Watching that live probably some of the scariest things I've seen on TV

[@UkuleleProductions]

I was really happy, that I missed it, because I had to work. Was so shocked when I saw the pictures :o

[@kcrussell25]

Unfortunately it was one of the few races my partner decided to watch live with me. Following the explosion she was panicking that he was dead and much as I was running through the safety procedures even I was fearing the worst. It was a great relief to tell her it was him when cut to the medical car seeing him in there

[@mikeswet39]

Same here I screamed

[@UnnamedThe]

I remember repeating variations of "Come on. No. He doesn't deserve it." towards the screen the entire time until Romain's head poked out. Hubert was way too fresh for another one of those happening.

[@Kualinar]

Saw it live. At the time, I... Just... Couldn't... Utter... A... Single... Word... As... I... Was... To... Busy... Grasping... A... Bit... Of...Air... And... Breath.

[@jackmontgomery1790]

Romain Grosjean this season was literally Drive to Survive

[@Roy-qn2ie]

every Haas season is that

[@Artiick]

His fault tho

[@l1nussimracing981]

No not quite, for Grosjean it was Survive to Drive

[@interact940]

@@l1nussimracing981 exactly

[@penusliski]

Survive a drive

[@IAmPdawg]

Hopefully Indy car treats him well, cool of him to keep racing after something like that. Love of the sport.

[@migidymarsh]

yeah, totally cool that he's taking his reckless driving to another venue to endanger more drivers.

[@MrPilotbekesi]

@@migidymarsh agree! It's great he's well but that crash was just the peak of his horrendous driving errors in F1 in my view...

[@marijnmolenaar2848]

@@MrPilotbekesi Thats a dumb comment. Yeah it was his fault, but this could have happend to anyone. It where bad circumstances, not because he's a bad driver. Grosjean is one of the most experieced F1 pilots out there

[@ant2312]

@Javier Gorostidi-Turner BS

[@ant2312]

@@marijnmolenaar2848 experienced doesn't always mean good

[@blze0018]

Between this crash and Ryan Newman's crash at Daytona last year, I saw two drivers survive crashes that would've been deadly a decade ago. So much respect for the guys and gals working on these safety measures. My favorite factoid is one of the bars that saved Ryan Newman's life was campaigned by... Ryan Newman. It's called the "Newman Bar" and likely saved his own life.

[@randygravel2057]

Nascar is still a thing?

[@mattjc1021]

The cars and driver protection was adequate enough to survive an accident like this in 2010

[@RACECAR]

I think you mean two decades ago, but I get your point.

[@josepedroteixeira3120]

@@mattjc1021 mate, no halo, no head on Grosjean's shoulders today

[@TheFairyDickmother]

@@randygravel2057 Thats what you got out of that 😑🙄

[@farhank8297]

NO one can deny how important the halo has become

[@mijnnaamisaaron]

The halo has not become important. Boom - just did.

[@rajs4012]

Except the above guy, no one is man. This is a known fact

[@Anton_Chigurh38]

I still stand my my word that they are ugly. But there is no doubt that they are very important.

[@jeffreytenthije]

At least halos should be looking better on the 2022 car

[@Riv_Dyl97]

@@jeffreytenthije mate, function>looks

[@zakmirza]

Dr Ian Roberts went above and beyond. He ran straight INTO the flames to help. Instinctive without regard to his own safety. Amazing guy.

[@oreichert]

But the safety of the doctor is paramount. He can't do his job, if he goes down... E. g. he need a closed helmet, not the open helmet he wear so far.

[@Barbreck1]

When you're equipped with a fire-resistant suit and have the training to deal with this very scenario, it's not that amazing, heroic wonderful or miraculous, it's just a guy doing the job he was trained and equipped to do.

[@suitsandstrings55]

@@Barbreck1 I don't care how much you train or how many drills you do, the instinct to rush in the way he did is nothing short of heroism

[@Barbreck1]

@@suitsandstrings55 Good for you.

[@4lderion]

@@Barbreck1 There's no such a thing about "fire-resistant suit", there's only heat-resistant suit the suit that firefighter always wear, sure there's fire-resistant suit, but that only used by hazmat unit on specific action, and fire-resistant suit aren't heat-resistant

[@ianhowlett4682]

I’m impressed that the accident investigation was so thorough, like an air crash investigation. I hope that genuine safety improvements can come from it.

[@y1521t21b5]

I remember being physically ill at the sight of the fireball and thinking _"We've lost another star driver. If the impact didn't get him, the smoke and flames surely have."_ That he remained conscious was miraculous. GRO's successful egress, his emergence for the flames and thick, billowing smoke, got me emotional. Intense combination of disbelief, gratitude and joy. I will remain in awe of the work done by the marshals and medical team as well as of GRO's own determination as he thought about his kids and family during those crucial seconds. All the best to GRO in _IndyCar!_

[@Jgauti123]

Goku training at 50g and getting tired while romain grosjean walking away from a 67g impact like nothing ever happened. The true super saiyan 😎

[@CC-gt3ro]

And he stayed 28sec in flames when car are built to support 20sec. He should put Unbreakable in the back of his headset

[@marcel_mooh3592]

@@CC-gt3ro The suit is build to withstand 30-35seconds of fire.

[@ethanrichardson5139]

@Eugene C why there lookin into updating the gloves. it's all good being able to get straight up and evac at a 0* angle but as the crash showed it could be any angle and be pinned in. gloves should be designed like the rest of the uniform. and still keep the life saving tech inside them (they have heart rate and oxegen info.. like ur smart watch but better) mabye add it into the boots too gives them an on scene EKG without needing to attach anythin

[@BoleDaPole]

So he was basically seconds away from burns on his body and death

[@LennardA320]

@Eugene C and torn everything a part. Your brain ways at that critical point as heavy as a standard mans body. How can't he have any neurological damage. All soft organs going everywhere and not breaking off like huge blood vessels and the pressure. Is a miracle that he stayed conscious. That saved him otherwise his fire proof suit that was upgraded exactly that year had failed. Only his handcuffs were lower protection, rhe protection of the previous race suits so if this happened 1 year earlier he had serious fire wounds.

[@SusannaJ]

I loved that he wanted to walk to the ambulance so we would know he was okay.

[@RATsnak3]

F1: dude just hit a wall at 150mph and experienced 60+ Gs, walks it off as a show of strength Soccer: dude didn’t even get touched and is screaming in agony for no reason on the floor

[@RishabhKumar-eb4ut]

Nice one 🤣🤣🤣

[@roberthiggins6401]

And that's exactly why I cannot stand football.

[@RATsnak3]

@@TvonToby3254 also, if you’re playing soccer at a professional level with your career on the line, your adrenaline is going to be rushing lol.

[@TvonToby3254]

@@RATsnak3 I can agree to a point, I can imagine thats true when your starting out in your carreer, but after a while I'm guessing for most they settle down and learn to hold their positions and get the adrenaline under control. I remember once when I was in junior school I was a long distance runner they called it cross country running. It's all about stamina while saving abit of energy for a big push at the end, incase you need to fend of an attack. Well I entered in to running x country for the county, that's where all the top runners from all the schools in the borough meet up and have a race. I'd never ran in a race with so many lads before in my life there must of been 50 or 60 boys in my race. We set off and for some reason hearing the rubbling of all the runners feet hitting the ground sounding like a horse race, well Ive never experienced anything like it before. The sound was deafning and the vibrations on the souls of my trainers made me panick, I dunno I thought I could get trampled or something. I ended up sprinting for my life leading into the first corner all on adrenaline, bad mistake. I just knew at that point my race was done and when I had calmed down the whole race was a slog my legs had lactic acid by the end of the 1st lap. I thought I'm never gonna finnish this race but I did I came 18th which was crap for me my m8 I used to run with and regularly beat came 4th so I knew if I never messed up my start I could of won that my first ever x country race. Oh well we live and we learn aye 😆😂🤣

[@scottirvine121]

Agree but its football or fitbaw

[@fintonmainz7845]

If he couldn't exit himself: it's hard to see how those at the scene, however brave, could have gotten him out on time.

[@JJs_playground]

Agreed, he basically saved himself. If was knocked out, the outcome would be a lot different. I hated the Halo when it first appeared, but now I'm glad it was there. It literally saved his life.

[@alexball756]

@@JJs_playground I think the aero screen would have trapped him and that's worth thinking about.

[@alexball756]

I do think the marshall's safety equipment needs updating. They need fire suits, gloves and facial protection. None of them could get near enough to him to help. The medical car personnel were risking facial burns even in their protective gear.

[@sntslilhlpr6601]

@@alexball756 The bottom line is that no amount of protection will let you dive into flames like that, and no amount of protection will let the driver sit in them unconscious. The only real way to ensure survival during something like this is to have a fire suppression system in the cockpit capable of dousing flames for minutes which would be very heavy. Anything along those lines are just bandaids, imho. The reason why the car got torn apart was simply due to barrier design. Fix that and maybe revise some parts of the fuel system and you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

[@robi4387]

@@sntslilhlpr6601 It is amazing it hasn't happened before, given the point shape of the cars and the gaps in almost all armco barriers.

[@bobdevreeze4741]

I still think it is the most severe crash I have seen in my 60 years as a fan where the driver basically walked away...A very lucky man.

[@andrew6978]

I think Kubica's at Montreal was pretty horrific, although to be fair, he didn't walk from that one but did survive, miraculously

[@drgs38]

How old are you??? 😆😆

[@bobdevreeze4741]

@@drgs38 64

[@firelynx1108]

@@bobdevreeze4741 lifelong fan, nice

[@bobdevreeze4741]

@@firelynx1108 My father took me to my first race at 3 months ... My mother was not amused.. I am a fan of racing. I dont care what type. I have had the privilege of working on a Can-Am boat and being a gofor to many race teams...

[@phil4986]

Jules Biachis death and Formula Ones response to it - The Halo and the stronger safety cell because of the addition of the Halo - is why Grosjean survived. When Grosjean jumped over that guardrail , I had tears of joy in my eyes. Rest in Peace Jules.

[@Harrison244]

Still the scariest thing I’ve ever seen live I thought for sure I’d seen a driver die thank god everyone was relatively safe

[@martini668]

What about Jos verstappen fire... Scary as well

[@CessBee123]

@@martini668 That was stationary though. This was at 119 mph... terrifying.

[@offutt]

I thought the same thing while watching the 2020 Daytona 500 when Ryan Newman crashed. And they didn't show him or say he was alive.

[@michaelharris679]

He really shouldn't be alive. It's amazing that a non-fatal accident exposed so many hidden safety concerns. He saved several lives beyond his own that day.

[@michaelking4578]

Keep thanking God. Even with all the safety components in place and the excellent human response it is only by God's power that this man survived.

[@sindhusojan8225]

It's crazy how FiA manages to improve every nook and cranny after having everything near perfect.

[@ThyAxeman]

They use the same approach as the airline industry (let's leave aside the recent Boeing misfortunes now). Nothing is so good it cannot be made better. Especially for safety.

[@tommasoannoni4836]

To be fair, the old-tired protection alongside circuits are old and bad (cars bounce back on the track). I know of at least one engineer that pointed that out in the past and proposed a solution with a different system (imagine memory foam type of impact absorbents). They did not listen to him and did nothing. Antoine Hubert was hit from another car because his car bounced on the protective tires and bounced back in the track - with a different absorbent and no spring effect, he would be still alive. Just saying, the cars are actually incredibly safe nowadays, and so many improvements made over the years. But things are not perfect at all. And I still don’t understand how modern large and fast F1 cars are allowed to run in narrow and street circuits like Monaco and more, they need wide roads, both for safety and to allow overtakes. They are not go-karts lol

[@ja2688]

@@tommasoannoni4836 Look with respect to the tragic loss of Antoine Hubert his accident really was a freak accident. It's a difficult one because he could have still been seriously injured if he'd have a hit a different barrier. Fact was like Grosjean he was traveling very fast so normal barrier he'd have been subject to potentially very high G-forces. We all know Eau Rouge is an extremely fast corner what's to say Hubert's wouldn't still be deflected back on track even with a different barrier? You can't guarantee it. He'd probably have just been hit by a different driver than Correa and the first impact already destroyed the cars crash protection. So basically that accident was an accumulation of extreme bad luck and misfortune. We've all seen drivers crash at Spa on that corner before and walk away his and Correa’s (sorry if I've spelt his name wrong) was just a completely freak accident. Same as Grosjean’s really F1 F2 and F3 are all incredibly safe but in some cases there's going to be accidents that you cannot always account for even with all the safety Innovations in the world.

[@user-ot4wm2fh8g]

@@ThyAxeman was going to say it’s very similar to how aviation disasters are handled. A full investigation is opened and every single detail is analysed to improve safety and reduce the chances of it happening again!

[@niklnik1008]

@@ja2688 it's still a difficult case tho, because the exact area of the track in which Hubert's accident happened was already known to be problematic, reason being the position and geography of the spot. Optimally there should've been a gravel trap, with the barrier being moved a couple of metres away from the track. The track designers and engineers knew about the dangers of Eau Rouge and to this day there still haven't been any measures really to make the corner a safer one.

[@callum.n2612]

It never fails to shock me every time i see that crash.

[@gregcym]

I did exactly the same, turned to the mrs and said "whoever is in that is dead", I was actually shaking!!

[@heavyharris5580]

I really thought I had watched an F1 driver die that day, I couldn't believe the fireball. Thank god he was okay, and that safety has improved so much

[@ZATennisFan]

As much as safety has improved I truly believe that the Universe decided that that was not his day to go....

[@connorduncan9859]

I like that this video is able to break down the main components what happened this is probably one of the best channels for this.

[@TeamTwiistz]

Well it is a major corporation

[@deabreu.tattoo]

man, just imagine if there wasn't a halo on the car....

[@FRkiddo]

Yeah, it would have been so much easier to get out. 0 damage on the halo, the only thing they said was ‘it worked well’. If it worked so well then why was there 0 damage on it?

[@adrianlarco3581]

@@FRkiddo the halo literally saved his life. If it wasn’t there he would’ve died on impact with the barrier

[@salty3958]

@@FRkiddo Would of been much easier to get out? Mate he would be dead and have even less chance of getting out. The reason there was no damage to it is because it's comprised of Titanium which was able to deform the barrier (ie, distributing the force away from the HALO) and not recieve any damage itself.

[@gabrieldenouden7301]

I’d rather not

[@niccrittenden8998]

@@FRkiddo The Halo was wedged in the barrier, without it Grosjeans head would have been totally exposed.

[@DGFishRfine1]

This was actually a huge triumph! Not only did established safety protocols work (and the driver walked away from a life threatening incident!) but the FIA is *still* trying to improve safety as a result. Great job to all

[@solracer66]

As someone who attended the 1994 San Marino GP I had a terrible feeling about this accident when I watched it on TV and the relief I felt when it was announced that he was ok was palatable. I really truly thought that we'd lost him and it brought back memories of not knowing that either Ratzenberger or Senna had died until making it back to my friend's house each evening. Roman is a very lucky man...

[@EatMyPropwash]

I’m just glad he’s alive, and that even more safety isn’t being passed over but WILL change dramatically for the better.

[@Tom-eq5bz]

67 G-Forces my Lord, could not believe that he exited it himself

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

LOOL u say it as if he had to contend with 67 seperate G forces lol

[@nicholasgiampetro782]

67 G of acceleration, or about 660 m/s^2. It's not a measure of force although the force can be calculated. Grosjean weighs about 60 kg so he experienced 39.6 KN of lateral force as he decelerated which is pretty remarkable

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

@@nicholasgiampetro782 For laymen, 39.6 kN = nearly 4 tons.

[@BoleDaPole]

Imagine the g forces that happen during aeroplane and heli copter crashes

[@thathobbyguy6135]

@@paulmichaelfreedman8334 that is literally what it means.

[@CraigyGInDaHut1993]

Still remember watching that live. Couldn't believe it when I saw the fire ball. Honestly thought someone would be dead or seriously injured. Just shows the strength of these cars so far that he managed ti get out

[@Lyzurd]

I think its amazing that we are able to determine such things from limited sets of data.

[@megawave79]

There is a lot to get and a lot of data from the car

[@DJShadesUK]

What are you on about "limited sets of data"? There was probably 10's of gigabytes of data covering this incident, including real-time 4k video (a luxury not afforded most crash investigations). In fact there was probably more data available than there is for a plane crash where the wreck is not recoverable.

[@megawave79]

@@DJShadesUK You're right about everything; Except for the fact that aircraft have a lot more data on them to use than an F1 car

[@TV3MASTER]

@@megawave79 i really doubt it is "a lot more" might be even less. Sure, a plane has more sensors, but not every sensor is being recored in the black box. And that is what we where talking about here, data that is avaible. with the f1 car, im pretty sure every bit of sensor data is being sent to the pits live, a plane doesn't do that. *edit:spelling

[@DJShadesUK]

@@megawave79 In terms of onboard processing then you're probably right; planes I suspect would have a lot more data (I mean, commercial jets with flight computers usually have three identical but independent systems to "sanity check" each other). But in terms of data available to investigators post-incident an F1 car exceeds that of a commercial jet. According to US aircraft regulations, a Flight Data Recorder must store, at a minimum, 88 pre-defined flight parameters. An F1 car meanwhile can transmit upwards of 300 parameters in real-time and is stored independently of the crashed vehicle. Naturally not all parameters are useful in the event of an incident but that applies equally to both planes and F1.

[@minnesotom776]

What stood out for me was the track fire team seemed confused as to how to handle this. The doc had to help one get the extinguisher going and it didn’t look like they knew what to do. That’s the scary part and needs to change.

[@BongoBaggins]

Someone in the past, after all investigations and deliberations were done, someone with the power to do so, said "Do it, " and the halo was green-lit. They saved Romain's life that day.

[@nnproductions2688]

I believe it was bernie Eccleston who insisted on it

[@maurosgardelis8085]

@@nnproductions2688 bless that old man

[@paologagliardi6205]

@@nnproductions2688Bernie? Nope, Jean Todt pushed it after Bianchi's death. The idea itself was a suggestion by Mercedes, while Red Bull's proposal was the aero screen.

[@tensevo]

Those hand extinguishers and the onboard extinguisher seem wholly inadequate when dealing with a real fuel fire.

[@cannygrowabeard]

That turn 1 shortcut, wow, just wow.

[@erikm9540]

What amazes me is that the FIA is not addressing the failure of the response team. They were at the accident site within 11s, which is great, but they were in no way prepared to deal with such a large fire. Their fire suppression and fire protection gear is woefully inadequate to deal with a fire of this magnitude. The fact is, if Romain would have been knocked unconscious, he would have died due to the unpreparedness of the safety team. But everyone keeps celebrating them, even though it was Romain who freed himself and jumped away from harm.

[@chrisbaker2018]

More people need to saying this, there is no reason that the medical car doesn’t carry a serious fire extinguisher and that one medical officer wears real fireproof equipment.

[@3D_Blu-ray_Bunker]

Completely agree, and it is fairly worrying that this isn't mentioned more often. There were loads of safety features that saved Romain that day but the bottom line seems to be, if you're in a big fire then you're on your own. If he'd been unconscious, or maybe worse still conscious but unable to release that stuck foot, or not quite able to squeeze out of the extremely narrow gap between the cockpit and barrier then, for all their great work, all the safety car crew would have achieved is that they'd have been the guys who got the close-up view of watching him die. I do get that F1's very dangerous and something can always go horribly wrong, you can't mitigate for everything etc, but there does seem to be a bit too much credit given to the safety car team on this occasion. I'm not knocking them, they did a great job getting there but, really, there's only one person who saved the driver here, and it's the man himself.

[@gregu723]

Training, training, training, of the track side emergency response personnel on the use and operation of the fire extinguishers that they were using. I noticed many seconds of fumbling even just in pulling the pin to activate and release the extinguisher’s valve. Very embarrassing.

[@drifthdrider8024]

They would have needed a full size fire truck with foam RIGHT there in order to put out the fire quickly. No way they can do that at a track that fast.

[@OnceIWasBooker]

I agree, even a dedicated fire vehicle following the cars round lap 1 would help.

[@upsidedown4155]

20 years ago this would have been another tombstone, respect to everyone who helped keep a racer racing

[@dolwolfianphotography]

Never expected he got alive of this crash during live coverage! His fitness, fight to survive, luck and medical team combo saved his life 🤙

[@michaelking4578]

And God. Hang loose.

[@Matt.m6]

Imagine if his foot didn't release from the boot, thank goodness it did. Fascinating video.

[@louiscypher4186]

so many things could have gone, 6 more centimetres and grosjean would have been pinned by the barrier itself. If the upper bar had sheered instead of buckled he'd have been trapped. If he wasn't able to break loose the jammed part of the head rest head have been trapped. If the safety car was just 3 seconds slower Grosjean would have been exiting completely on fire.

[@Matt.m6]

@@louiscypher4186 damn son, hes a lucky guy

[@cole3835]

If that barrier just had some tyres in front of it, it would have made a big difference

[@Ugrasrava]

67G is one hell of an impact. It always boggles my mind how far safety in motorsport has come, it wasn't that long ago that impact would have been a guaranteed fatality and nobody would have bothered to see if it could have been prevented.

[@troublemakerxd8847]

I read that in 2001 Luciano Burti survived his crash in Spa with 85 G and Sergio Perez Monaco crash in 2011 was with 81 G ,nur still unbelievelable they all survived their crashes.

[@CzornyLisek]

It's for miliseconds Just slap hand on table and You will experience even higher (de)acceleration

[@Posirep]

Kenny Brack survived a 214G hit in an IndyCar 2003. No other humam has come close to surviving a hit like that before or since

[@Ugrasrava]

@@CzornyLisek Yeah, on your hand that weighs a pound or two. Not your entire body, that weighs several orders of magnitude more and therefore produces orders of magnitude more force when subjected to a high g-load. Very, *very* different contexts, so different that your example is useless.

[@whassupg89]

Those are some big numbers. Really hope IndyCar goes well for him this year

[@deadmansfire]

Drive to survive got its big climax

[@rickymackie2340]

It's all downhill from here

[@OfficialSamuelC]

Seeing the medical car fly onto the scene was some relief. Justifies why it doesn’t hurt to have them following on the first lap, and doesn’t affect the race at all if no incidents occur on lap 1.

[@kingd3444]

Romain : *Almost Dies in 67G Crash* The Race : "... what a spectacular crash "

[@ThorsteinKlingenberg]

Two numbers stand out: 67 - The amount of G forces in the impact. 11 - The amount of seconds from the crash to the rescue car arrived at the scene. Wow.

[@hannahmillington5781]

I thought he had been killed when I saw it live - it just shows we have so much to celebrate about how good safety has become that someone could walk away from that.

[@TByrom]

THANKS, The Race! I’ve followed F1 since 1973 and LOVE the safety advancements. So many racers have suffered and even perished without their vital presence in our favorite sport

[@LoneOxy]

He did not sustain 67gs, the car did. With all the extra safety gear and equipment in the car and in the barrier, he probably at most sustained I'd say up to 50gs. But thats pushing it. The FIA in their official statement even say: "Romain Grosjean’s car impacted the triple guardrail barrier behind the run-off area at 192 km/h and at an angle of 29 degrees, with an estimated yaw of 22 degrees to the direction of travel and a resultant peak force equivalent to 67g." As you'll notice at the very beginning of that sentence "Romain Grosjean's car". Any news outlet that says he suffered 67gs is basically trying to get people to click on their articles or videos.

[@naghm91032]

Sure

[@Idek10000]

I don’t think you understand how this works...when your in something that sustains 67gs on impact your also going to sustain 67gs on impact.(just like how they corner at 5gs both the car and the driver are feeling those forces the same) everyone else seems to understand that and that’s why they’re saying Grosjean sustained those forces.

[@Robert-cu9bm]

They determine it from sensors in his ear, so yes his head sustained 67g. However G-forces are dangerous determining on their length. A standard side impact crash in your normal car generates around 80g.

[@thesamaffliction1572]

As much as I was critical of the race directors handling of incidents last season. I can only thank and appreciate the incredible work in this case. If it wasn’t for their reactions and especially the medical car team and protocols. I fully support their changes but to work out that much from so little and for them to act so quick in prepping extra methods is worth all fans being grateful for

[@nomojo1110]

Great overview. And what fantastic reaction times by marshall's and medical staff. Thank you.

[@williamtraynor4350]

Yeah they were quick but Romain saved himself... two things saved him were luck and time both provided by God

[@Chousakan]

The safety crews need better equipment. You could see them reeling from the heat as they approached. They should've been fighting that fire much more aggressively and saving his life if he was trapped. As it stands he had to save himself and would've roasted if not for his own efforts, the advances in race suits, and some luck in how far the cockpit went through the barrier. I'm not dissing the crew. They were on the scene as quickly as they could be and did the best they could with what little they were given.

[@johnfarrelly4753]

If anything could go wrong, it did; then everything that could go right, did.

[@niclaskarlin]

The barrier failed successfully.

[@michaelking4578]

God protected this man from death.

[@jamestosi6592]

The FIA evidence has concluded that Romain did in fact Grosjean himself into the torpedo

[@sindhusojan8225]

Name a better duo than both of them, I'll wait

[@deeacosta2734]

Yup. An insane move by Gro caused this. He cut off the entire back field. 💥

[@NolanRempel]

oh my god that is terrible but god damn it’s funny

[@mikaelbiilmann6826]

Romain Crashjean.

[@onegrapefruitlover]

I feel like I'm going to hell for laughing so hard at this lmao

[@lat-qz3tn]

As a Nascar fan I’d love to see the Safer Barrier make its way overseas and be used at these tracks to help reduce impact forces

[@CapitanoAraym]

Not a bad idea at all: I'm still puzzled that the FIA still uses metal guardrails in race tracks when, across a lot of European coutries, are deemed unsafe and removed from hi-speed civil roads...

[@Stettafire]

The metal guardrails have killed multiple drivers on impact. Really replacing them might not be such a terrible idea

[@TheMachineRadioShow]

It's a miracle the halo held. When I saw the crash, my first thought was what happened to Helmuth Koinigg.

[@Schlum99]

I think it was a miracle that he was not knocked unconscious on impact. The fact he stayed conscious and got himself out saved his life. 🙏 glad he made it out safe, it was a very serious crash.

[@Robert-cu9bm]

Modern crash safety.

[@michaelking4578]

God saved this man and that's the miracle.

[@awboat]

@@michaelking4578 ha ha, uh NO. Modern Technology, hard work, lots of money and the Halo kept him alive.

[@eidodk]

@@michaelking4578 If a God exists at all, he/she hasn't done a thing for the human race since the pyramids were built. Just stop.

[@sharonwong5688]

I legit thought I watched him die when I saw the crash. After seeing not just the explosion but the car being ripped in half, I thought he would've been decapitated until I remembered the halo. Kudos for the FIA for implementing that and to everyone involved with the readiness of the safety precautions.

[@deeacosta2734]

No offense to anyone but this was bound to happen with Grosjean driving for Haas. It was an insane move that caused this crash. Grosjean is a skilled driver, but doesn’t have the best situational awareness and risk judgment.

[@Papafou]

Absolutely. Amazing work of the halo but he shouldn't have got himself in that situation in the first place. He made a career out of sketchy close quarter racing and was no stranger to incidents. I hope now he has learned a valuable lesson that will make him a better driver in indy car.

[@deeacosta2734]

@@Papafou he's a good driver, but really needed a coach to help him get past his errors.

[@midnightwalker4642]

Earth to Indy Car: Grosjean has a disability - Random moments of losing situational awareness. If good coaching could correct the problem, this accident would have never happened. If he continues racing he may kill somebody someday. Why are you letting him race? Thankfully he survived this crash.

[@cole2999]

This was a superbly organized video! Very well done

[@gunnergav]

Remember kids check your mirrors and don't weave in traffic 😉

[@alanjm1234]

Underrated comment!

[@raphaelfillos6120]

Kvyat was in blind spot and Grosjean did a maneuvr to dodge a situation ahead. I get it's a joke, but not everyone does. :D

[@jakob1phelps]

More focus needs to be made on circuit design safety. That wall barrier was sticking out like a sore thumb and just waiting for someone to hit it.

[@dianebiglow50]

Diane Biglow, You are absolutely correct much more circuit design needs correcting. That type of barrier should be long gone.

[@bungabening3530]

Highest recorded G Force on a rollercoaster is just 6.3. Fighter pilots can experience up to 9 Gs.

[@dianebiglow50]

Diane Biglow, Thank you for that insight.

[@Robert-cu9bm]

Continuous G...this is a fraction of a second. High G isn't a problem, it's the length of time. According to NHTSA a standard side impact crash records a maximum of 80g. That's in off the shelf cars without all the safety gear.

[@clinteranovic8075]

It's impressive that first of all the rescue response was so efficient and well executed and also that the investigation and analysis has been carried out that hopefully will help to improve safety in future. Decades ago without the halo and body shell this would undoubtedly have been a fatal accident.

[@PoRRasturvaT]

I was surprised to see Grosjean was litterally smoking hot after his escape, but there was nothing to cool him down on the spot, this might have reduced the severity of his burn

[@raphaelfillos6120]

Burns don't really work like that. It would probably ease the pain (as long as water is flowing) but it doesn't really stop a burn, once you have reached a peak temperature, all the damages are done, as soon as your environment is cooler than you are, no more damage is done to the body. Also cooling down too fast from a burn damages your body even more. When i burn myself i usually apply temperate/cold (not too cold) water flowing on the burned area (not directly onto it) That's how i've been taught to manage fire damage. Also vapor is EXTREMLY dangerous, hot water(steam) is wayyy worse than a fire burn as the heat transfer capacity of water is extremly high compared to air. Source : I'm a chef, i burnt myself more times than i can count with some really high temperatures.

[@benji_t747]

If Grojean was unconscious...or WORSE.... how.would.they have got him out.... AFTER putting out the fire. Imo.... An EXTREME near miss

[@OCAdam]

Just makes me think the FIA and track owners should bite the financial bullet and install SAFER barriers.

[@drgs38]

They are already spending a lot of money on safety, maybe millions, and of course they will think about safer barriers, the FIA never lose any kind of money they only care about safety really

[@haraldhimmel5687]

I find it a bit surprising too that the vid didn't mention reevaluation of the barriers. Breaking through both sheets like that seemed to have played a major role in why the car got torn apart and why the fuel ignited in the first place. Also brings back memories of certain horror crashes involving decapitations and the like in the earlier days. Hard to imagine these barriers worked as intended.

[@drgs38]

@@haraldhimmel5687 They did mention it🤦🏻, check 5:14

[@haraldhimmel5687]

@@drgs38 They review "barrier openings". Didn't sound like they would consider redesigning the barriers or so but maybe the vid just didn't get quite into depth that far.

[@drgs38]

@@haraldhimmel5687 Yeah maybe

[@McLarenKeith]

Look at the final picture @6:15. You can see the heat waves coming off of Grosjean

[@alanzyoutube]

I think that this is just a case where everything that could go wrong did go wrong, it is just fractions and the FIA will do what they can but it can never be 100% safe, the key thing in this crash was that the halo works.

[@haraldhimmel5687]

You can't be 100% safe but the FIA also made several questionable safety decisions recently. Also the death of Bianchi for example was completely avoidable. I am not really critisizing the safety in Grosjeans case, clearly the current measures saved his life. More so avoidable decisions which elevate the risk for no reason, like restarting the race when there is still heavy machinery on track or thinking about weaking tires for "more strategy". It seems a bit like over the decades the people in charge got increasingly desensibilized to how dangerous this sport can be. Until Grosjeans crash at least. Hopefully this serves as a wake up call.

[@tommasoannoni4836]

@@haraldhimmel5687 I keep saying it in comments, but I’ll add that the old-tires system around the track ia bad and so old (cars bounce back on track, engineers in the past suggested actual impact absorbents materials and FIA did nothing. Imagine spring mattresses (tires) or memory foam mattresses, the second type would have saved Antoine Hubert, for example). Just saying.

[@tensevo]

Part of the issue was the incompressibility of the fuel cell when it is full of fuel. I think they should be mandated to carry less fuel, but with more fuel cell capacity such that it can compress upon impact.

[@TV3MASTER]

could have atleast included metric units in the graphics...

[@WromWrom]

Or, as they are called: International System of Units. International as official in most places in the world. But hei, let's stick to unscientific units. I'm pretty sure the engineers that developed the safety as well as those analyzing the data used SI. Oh, and I agree with you, mind.

[@Capitainetim]

1:44 oh, I see now what Grosjean was meaning when he says that he tries to get out up, then right/up then left/up but was hitting something on his head

[@Jack-D-Ripper]

Roman's erratic driving caused the crash. Thankfully, the safety crew, the halo and his suit/gloves helmet lessened the affects of this dreadful crash.

[@Robert-cu9bm]

The HALO saved and almost killed him. The HALO stopped him escaping after it protected him. It was only the thought of his children that made him find a way out.

[@armstrongcatherine]

I cannot comment on the headrest being taken off ( as he doesn't mention doing that in interviews but could have) but he definitely didn't remove his steering wheel. He stated in an interview that the steering wheel was gone.

[@Showmetheevidence-]

Basically he’s f* lucky & should be glad he’s racing modern cars at modern circuits.

[@Robert-cu9bm]

Yep, but on the same token if he wasn't, the risky driving manoeuvres taken today wouldn't be taken.

[@scollinsonpolar]

Very informative, and easy to follow video. Most from this channel are You've earned my subscription 😁

[@DavidFPV360]

Meanwhile in Rally : "Yea we could put some hay bales in front of that huge tree right at the exit of that 180kph turn and tell the fans to stand a couple of feet away"

[@fazz27]

So many things to be shocked and in awe with this incident. The fact that Romain survived a 67G impact beggars belief. The fact that he was conscious throughout and had the presence of mind, and even to the fact that he insisted to walk to show the world he was ok was something on another planet. I am simply amazed.

[@javsjavs8659]

It's still very mind boggling to me that had something similar to this happened prior to 2018 the driver wouldn't have made it out. I'm so happy they introduced the halo

[@kinnonmcallister]

I was in Hospital sharing a ward with 5 other guys. It was May 1st 1994. We all watched live the magnificent Ayrton Senna die. I swear to god not one of us uttered a single word for at least an hour after. That's how shocked and saddened we were.

[@Oakley2097]

Metric, please!

[@mikaelbiilmann6826]

67 in the shit-my-pants scale.

[@allaboutthegyro]

119 mph is roughly 190 kph.

[@DrColoso]

@@mikaelbiilmann6826 huahuahuahuahuahuahuahua! You make my day 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@biftillbunny6563]

Very good video. Very articulate and well thought out.

[@Shifty_Malone]

The largest improvement to safety since this accident, has already happened. Grosjean has been dropped from F1.

[@trebor9711]

The invention of the Halo unit to all Formula 1 cars Helped save Roman Grohjean and lately Lewis Hamilton when Max Verstappens car mounted the Mercedes. Thank God for this safety update. 🙏

[@niklasxl]

cmon use metric :D

[@DaveWrightKB9MNM]

Props to all the safety gear(suits, helmets, gloves, shoes)for the drivers now. This was a real life test to show that the equipment can stand up. Also, the rescue team did a phenomenal job. Granted the heat kept them back for a bit, but they didnt stop trying. Great job!

[@keithwilliams9594]

It amazes me that everybody seems to forget that Grosjean caused the accident and could have easily taken another car into the barrier with him. He has been a "Massive accident waiting to happen" for years. Yes it is good he escaped with his life and yes it is good he didn't kill anybody but lets not hail him as some kind of hero. I for one am glad he has finished in F1

[@michaelking4578]

Good thing he didn't die though. All these guys are accidents waiting to happen.

[@margaretzeitlergottfried1748]

Thank you for the brilliant analysis. I’ve watched the accident over and over on Netflix but you were able to provide every detail. How far we have come in protecting the drivers. The suit and the halo certainly gave Romain the ability to escape. Amazing!

[@gdogg3710]

Grosjean thundering around the banked ovals of the US...I dont picture that ending well...

[@zangtar31]

He won't do the ovals this year

[@tayntedmemories]

He wont do ovals. He said he doesn't wanna push his luck after the crash

[@gdogg3710]

I think that is a wise move...

[@mrpixiledd2489]

thanks for not running through the live footage of the crash again

[@Carmai7]

Grosjean has been testing safety regulations for awhile now...

[@chicobicalho5621]

There were three horrific accidents, which in my childhood days of the 1970s, would very likely end up in the loss of the driver; Kubica 2007 in Canada, Alonso 2016 in Australia and this one. It is quite amazing how people can walk away from massive accidents like those, because, as a kid, I witnessed countless deaths live on Television, that still haunt me to this day.

[@cronus468]

Good he’s safe and well but he’s always been a safety issue for others and himself, always so wreckless like a time bomb waiting to happen

[@mikeyoung9810]

I'm impressed at their diligence to keep improving safety. As someone who has been watching since the 80's and has witnessed deaths of drivers this makes the race more enjoyable knowing how hard they work at keeping them safe.

[@theoriginalrabbithole]

Romain Grosjean is a very nice guy. Everyone likes him, which is a big part of why he hasn't lost his seat all these years. He's NOT a dick! BUT..he's not a top level racing car driver, either! He panics and makes careless and catastrophic mistakes and this is just the exclamation point on it all! We're lucky Danny Kvyat didn't get killed! Enough is enough! and yes, I believe spreading his particular brand of mayhem over to Indy Cars is a HUGE mistake also but time will tell. I just hope no one gets killed next time and lets be honest, there WILL be a ''next time'' for sure!

[@victortiez]

I agree, we are all happy that he made it out alive and relatively unarmed. But at some point it needs to be publicly aknowledged that he did a reckless maneuver and is at fault.

[@colinmartin2974]

For me the most lucky part about this crash not becoming a fatal crash, was the various rotational forces that redirected the inertia and after the initial contact. The primary contact at 60 deg, converted to rotation that swung the mass of the engine and rear drive train around the center of gravity breaking it off. This action took away a lot of the inertia forces. Next the barrier failure and the halo snagging the top rail, allowing the cockpit to further rotate about its longitudinal axis redirection of the stopping forces downward relative to greaujean, dissipating the g forces into his back and seat. All of these redirections in a fraction of a seccond.. But they saved his life. Had the impact penetrated the barrier in a straight line the failure of the lower rails, would have done little to slow the safety cell going right through with a hard downward force of the halo forcing its way under the top rail. This could have allowed greaujeans head to be thrown forward and become more exposed as the halo decended. Effectively raising the position of his helmet in the halo surround. The bottom edge of the top rail could have ripped through the top if his helmet if part of the rail buckled downward or the halo being deformed or broken.... Accidents are a compilation of events that come together to create a situation that cannot be avoided and prevent the "accident". Here some of the events that took place actually helped make this a survivable accident, but not forgetting greaujean's reactions and actions taking an important part in his fast extraction. Unlucky but lucky... Worst accident ive seen in any of the 60 years of F1 races ive watched, and the happiest outcome possible... Boy that was a close one...

[@Inferiis]

I think it was one of the biggest, if not the biggest crashes in F1 history. The fact that he survived shows how much technology has advanced. He wouldn't be with us if this happened a few years ago. Halo probably saved his life, but also the protective gear and the helmet, not to mention the advanced materials in the chassis

[@eidodk]

Roland Ratzenberger hit the barriers driving at 315km/h(195mph) a mere day before Ayrton Senna died at Imola in 1994. Ayrton Senna hit a concrete wall at 235km/h(145mph).. Grosjeans crash isn't even regarded as one of the 10 worst crashes in F1.

[@Inferiis]

@@eidodk Ratzenberger's maybe, but Senna's crash wasn't that big, it was just unfortunate. He hit the wall sideways, not a big deal in itself, but the wheel hit his head as well. Romain hit the barrier head on, and what's even worse, went through it. Without the halo, he'd been decapitated. p.s.: I'm not sure if there's any data of the G forces the above drivers experienced though, so it is only an opinion.

[@CalgarGTX]

Too many fire extinguishers, these are only good for the first 10 seconds of a small fire starting. Have some kind of vehicle following along the safety car that can douse the flames properly.

[@eastender74]

Amen to that! It also didn’t help that not all of the fire crew on the scene acted like they knew what they were doing too. One in particular Aiming the extinguisher nowhere near the fire. Let alone the base of the fire. A small fire truck with its own fire retardant tank should be added and an experienced fire crew should be mandatory as well.

[@milc4444]

Let's be frank, powder extinguishers are crap with dealing with running fuel fires which is what most racing car fires are. In fact there is only one extinguisher which meets the fia 8865 homologation standard, and that is yet to introduced. Most ccts just buy cheap Chinese cans because is a classic case of bean counter driven safety policies. Additionally it was obvious that the marshalls would have trouble putting out a match!

[@jakubsliva7206]

Good to hear the angle of the barrier has been mentioned: "not parallel to the track". This track setup had a major contribution to the accident, together with some other freak coincidences, like the impact point exactly between the two rails, 'perfect' distance from the pole to stop the monocoque instantly etc. But in my view, has the rail been just a couple of degrees more parallel to the track, car would never penetrate the rail with such an immence force.

[@mrbungle3310]

This crash is probably the worst it can happen in a one car crash,and grosjean spsrt from the hands was alright,its honestly amazing to see how the safety has improved,this can lead to drivers pushing more for agressive moves and for some older classic tracks