'I'm at peace with myself and I'm going to die': Romain Grosjean on horror Bahrain Grand Prix crash

Romain Grosjean admitted there was a moment where he accepted he was going to die during his horrific Bahrain Grand Prix crash last Sunday.

In a shocking turn of events last weekend, the Frenchman’s car hit and pierced through a crash barrier before bursting into flames, with Grosjean was trapped in the burning car for several seconds.

The 34-year-old admitted there was a moment where he was resigned to death but the thought of his children losing their father was a major moment in his escape out of the car and to safety. 

Romain Grosjean admits he accepted he was going to die during his horrific Bahrain GP crash

Romain Grosjean admits he accepted he was going to die during his horrific Bahrain GP crash

Grosjean’s car hit and pierced through a crash barrier before bursting into flames last weekend

Grosjean told Sky Sports F1: ‘I look right and left, and watching on the left I see fire. So I say “OK, well I don’t really have the time to wait here”.

‘So next thing is that I tried to go up a bit more on the right, it doesn’t work. I go again on the left, it doesn’t work.

‘I sit back down and then thought about Niki Lauda, his accident (at the Nuburgring in 1976), and thought “it couldn’t end like this, it couldn’t be my last race, it couldn’t finish like this. No way.”

‘So I try again and I’m stuck. So I go back and then there’s the less pleasant moment where my body started to relax. I’m at peace with myself, and I’m going to die. 

‘I asked my question: “Is it going to burn my shoe or my foot or my hand? Is it going to be painful? Where is it going to start?”

The Frenchman miraculously escaped after being trapped in his vehicle for several seconds

The Frenchman miraculously escaped after being trapped in his vehicle for several seconds

‘To me, that looks like two, three, four seconds. I guess it was milliseconds at the time. And then I think about my kids and I said “no, they cannot lose their dad today.”‘ 

The 34-year-old has three children with his wife Marion: seven-year-old Sacha, five-year-old Simon and two-year-old Camille. 

Grosjean also detailed the moment when he managed to pull himself out of the car by using his shoulders – whilst watching his gloves melt on his hands at the same time. 

The F1 driver suffered burns on his hands and ankles, a broken rib and a broken foot. 

The 34-year-old added: ‘I don’t know why, but I decided to turn my helmet on the left-hand side and to go up like this and then try to twist my shoulder. That sort of works, but then I realise my foot is stuck in the car. 

Grosjean suffered burns to his hands after putting his hands on the car which was on fire

Grosjean suffered burns to his hands after putting his hands on the car which was on fire

‘So I sit back down, I pull as hard as I can on my left leg and my foot comes out of the shoe. Then I do it again and then the shoulders are going through, and at the time the shoulders are through I know I’m going to jump out.

‘I’ve got both hands on the fire at that time. My gloves are red normally, so I see that especially the left one is changing colour and starting melting and going full black, and I feel the pain. But also I feel the relief that I am out of the car.

‘And then I jump out. I go on the barrier and then I feel Ian (Roberts) pulling on my overalls, so I know I’m not on my own anymore and there’s someone with me.

‘Then I land and then they touch on my back so I’m like “Oh s***, I’m like a running fireball.”  

Shocking images show the moment Grosjean managed to pull himself from the flames

Shocking images show the moment Grosjean managed to pull himself from the flames 

News of Grosjean’s condition following the incident was eased by footage of the Frenchman walking towards the ambulance. 

The F1 driver admitted it was his idea to walk instead of travelling via hospital bed to reassure fans, spectators and onlookers that he was safe. 

Grosjean added: ‘They put some cold compress on my hands because I told them my hands are burning, my foot is broken. And then the pain really starts going very high, especially on the left foot. The hands were OK at the time but the left foot starts being very painful.

Grosjean revealed it was his decision to walk to the ambulance to show onlookers he was safe

Grosjean revealed it was his decision to walk to the ambulance to show onlookers he was safe

‘Then Ian explains to me the ambulance is coming in and that ‘they’re going to come with the [medical] bed and you’re going be OK’.

‘And I say “no, no, no, we walk into the ambulance”. “No, no, no, no, the bed is coming’. And I said “no, no, no”. And I walk out of the car and I say “we are walking”, and he says “OK, we are going to help you.” 

‘I guess on the medical side, it wasn’t the perfect decision but they understood that, for me, it was key at the point that there was some footage of me walking towards the ambulance.

‘Even though I’d walked out of the fire, I needed to send another strong message that I was OK and I was going to walk towards the ambulance.’ 

Grosjean was discharged from hospital on Wednesday and returned to the scene of the crash on Thursday – just four days after he was dragged out of the burning car.

source: dailymail.co.uk