Romain Grosjean, former F1 driver: "My accident was a succession of miracles"

Alexis Patri 3:00 p.m., October 31, 2021, modified at 3:03 p.m., October 31, 2021

INTERVIEW

Death in the face

.

This is the title chosen by former Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean to tell, in a book co-signed with his partner Marion Jollès-Grosjean, the violent accident he experienced on November 29, 2020 on the Grand Bahrain Formula 1 Prize.

An event which he would not have, logically, had to leave alive, and that the miraculous one details Sunday at the microphone of Isabelle Morizet, on the occasion of his invitation in the program

, on Europe 1.

>> Find Isabelle Morizet's shows every weekend from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Europe 1 as well as in podcast and replay here

An accident of less than a second

“Coming out of corner number 2, I saw an opportunity to pass three cars in front of me, which had just come out of this corner badly. I had more speed than she. But, on my right, Daniil Kvyat is in my blind spot from turn number 1. Which never happens. I look in the rearview mirror. There is nothing. I look a second time. There is nothing. It's the perfect blind spot " , describes the pilot, now converted into indycar competition.

"I did not understand what had happened," he continues.

“Besides, the numbers speak for me: there are six tenths of a second between touching Daniil and the wall, and three tenths of a second between the wall and the moment the car stops. from a second to go from a straight line where everything is going well, to wanting to overtake three cars, to being in a bit of a complicated situation. "

An acceleration pressure of 67 G

The "touchette" mentioned by Romain Grosjean takes place 192 km away. He then received an acceleration pressure of 67G. You have to imagine that fighter pilots can support up to 9G, or 9 times their body weight. Romain Grosjean should therefore have lost consciousness in the face of this disproportionate force. Yet he does not pass out. "It's a miracle. It's part of the miracles of that day, for which there is no explanation. At 67 G, we are supposed to lose consciousness," confirms the one who is now an F1 consultant for Canal + .

The force of the impact split Romain Grosjean's car in two.

But, if he remains fortunately conscious, he does not immediately understand the urgency of getting out of his vehicle.

"I pull away right away, I try to get out of the car, but I'm stuck. My first thought is that I must be on the roof or sideways against the safety rail. I'm stuck, I tell myself that I will wait for someone to come and help me, ”explains.

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But the pilot looks around and very quickly observes that the "color is weird" and that "everything is turning all orange".

"I realize that there is fire and I begin to hear the noise of it. I understand that I have to find a solution to get out. I try to find the way out: impossible", says t he, before confiding that "the next thought is that this is going to end today."

One foot stuck in the pedals

The tabs of the visor of his helmet then begin to melt.

Romain Grosjean's view is blurred.

“By the time I finally find the exit, I realize that my leg is stuck at the bottom of the cockpit. I have to get back down into the car to pull on my leg as hard as I can because my shoe is stuck in. the brake pedal, "he says.

The pilot dives again into the burning vehicle and manages to free his foot from the deceleration pedal.

"I finally came out with a shoe on the right foot and only the sock on the left side," he says.

1% chance of getting out

This description of Romain Grosjean of his accident, as technical as it is modest, however masks what is going on in his head. “I didn't have time to be afraid. I had no choice, I had to find an exit. I still see the image of my left glove turning black and burning, and the pain that goes with it. , if I did not free my left foot, it was not the hand that was going to melt. It was my whole body, "he says first.

"Those 28 seconds lasted 1min30 for me, there were so many thoughts at the time. Everything is slowing down. These thoughts must have lasted for milliseconds. But for me, they came almost slowly, one after the other. ", he then specifies.

"I did not realize the visual impact of the accident, until I saw it on Monday morning. And there, I understood. It is not a miracle, it is a succession of miracles . If we were to repeat this accident 100 times, the pilot would not get out of it 99% of the time. "

Romain Grosjean's miracle was to be this 1%.