The Bahrain Grand Prix got off to a sour start on Sunday when Romain Grosjean suffered a horrendous crash on the first lap. A sudden move by Grosjean to the right brought his Haas machine into contact with Daniil Kvyat’s AlphaTauri, sending Grosjean straight into the armco barrier on the straight leaving turn three. The force split the car in half as the nose of the car embedded itself in the barrier. Fuel was spilled and immediately caught flame, resulting in a fireball.
After nearly thirty seconds Grosjean was able to free himself from the wreckage. Dr. Ian Roberts and Alan van der Merwe were on the scene to provide immediate aid from the medical car. Grosjean was taken to the hospital with burns to his hands and possible broken ribs, however an x-ray later revealed no broken bones. The crash, and subsequent lack of serious injuries, is a testament to the safety standards of modern Formula 1 cars. In particular the “halo”, maligned by some at its inception, likely helped save Grosjean’s life as the vehicle buried itself in the guardrail.
A red flag was called as track officials made work to clear the surface and repair the barrier to resume the race. The green flag conditions were short lived however as Lance Stroll was flipped onto his top after also making contact with Kvyat on lap three. After coming to a stop Stroll could be heard calmly chiming in over the radio, “Okay, I’m hanging upside down”.
Finally a Full Lap of Green
Despite this tumultuous start the grand prix continued on largely incident free for the remainder of the race. Lewis Hamilton pulled away quickly and was never put in danger of falling from the race lead. Max Verstappen was similarly consistent in second place, while Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas struggled to get back into the points after a poor start and running over debris. He eventually finished eighth.
Sergio Pérez appeared to be well on his way to finishing third until he suffered an MGU-K electrical issue with three laps to go. The result was a double DNF for Racing Point and a hard hit in the constructors’ standings. Hamilton took first, with Verstappen second. His teammate Alexander Albon came in third, a much needed result as the driver continues to try and prove himself worthy of staying in the Red Bull ride after a rather inconsistent season.
Season Points
Hamilton widened his lead to 131 points in the standings for the drivers’ championship he clinched last weekend. Bottas holds on to a narrow 12 point lead over Verstappen for second. Daniel Ricciardo leads the “best of the rest” in fourth at only 2 points ahead of Sergio Pérez. A mere 17 points separates Ricciardo from Carlos Sainz and Albon, tied for eighth.
With Mercedes and Red Bull having locked their positions in first and second respectively in the constructors’ standings the only battle remains for third. McLaren expanded to a 17 point lead over Racing Point, who is 10 points ahead of Renault. Ferrari continues their disappointing season, at sixth in the standings.
The Formula 1 grid stays in Bahrain for the week as they try the new layout set for the Sakhir Grand Prix on Sunday. Pietro Fittipaldi will substitute for Grosjean as he recovers from injuries suffered in his crash.
Update: It has been announced that George Russell will substitute for Lewis Hamilton as he is out with COVID-19.
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