Romain Grosjean never quite reached the heights in F1 that he had hoped for. He experienced limited success, with just 10 podium finishes during his stint with Lotus. After joining Haas in 2016, a top-three finish became a distant dream. Then, a horrific crash in 2020 cast a shadow over his F1 career altogether.
It was a scary evening in Bahrain. On the opening lap, the Haas driver suffered a massive impact at Turn 3, and shockingly, his car burst into flames.
Trapped inside the blazing inferno for around half a minute — an eternity for those watching — he somehow managed to escape. Miraculously, Grosjean survived with only a broken bone and a few burns. A scarring event for the Frenchman and the entire F1 community.
It’s been over four years, but even today, videos of Grosjean’s incident circulate on social media to remind how dangerous the sport can be. Recently, Naomi Schiff reacted to one of those clips and admitted to feeling chills to this date.
“The way I hold my breath watching this. You can’t watch this and not believe in Guardian Angels”, the Sky Sports presenter said, echoing the voice of many in the paddock who felt that luck and divine interference saved Grosjean’s life.
Naomi Schiff still feels the chills by watching Romain Grosjean’s terrifying crash from Bahrain 2020 pic.twitter.com/CbDBK31Qao
— Motorsport Fan (@F1IndyWEC) March 2, 2025
Schiff was by no means overreacting. After all, the impact Grosjean suffered was a staggering 67G — life-threatening on its own. Coupled with the time he spent surrounded by flames, it’s almost impossible to comprehend how he managed to walk out of Sakhir on his own two feet that evening.
It became the defining moment of Grosjean’s otherwise unremarkable F1 career and also marked the end of his time at the pinnacle of motorsport. He was already set to leave at the end of the season but was denied a proper farewell, as his injuries ruled him out of the final two races.
Grosjean’s crash shook the paddock to the core
The Bahrain GP is a physically demanding race for drivers, as the extreme heat causes significant sweating and weight loss. In 2020, Grosjean’s first-lap incident deeply affected his peers, with everyone anxiously monitoring whether the Haas driver was alright.
After the race, many argued that F1 shouldn’t have shown any footage of the crash on their social channels or live feed, given the severity of the situation. While broadcasters only aired the footage after confirming that Grosjean had escaped safely, some drivers felt it was insensitive to broadcast it regardless.
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Daniel Ricciardo was one of the most affected drivers that evening. “I’m disgusted and disappointed with Formula 1 for showing or choosing the way to show it as they did, and broadcast replays after replays after replays of the fire, and his car split in half,” he said.
Many seconded Ricciardo’s comments, as they felt it could have affected their psyche when they got back into the cars. In fact, some drivers, like Sebastian Vettel, deliberately avoided watching the crash footage until the race was over.
Naturally, a 67G impact with blazing flames would scare any human, and F1 drivers proved they are no exception. Thankfully, no driver has suffered such a terrifying accident or been engulfed in flames like that since.
