The image of his car cut in half and surrounded by flames, on the Bahrain circuit on November 29, continues to circulate on social networks.
If it reminds Formula 1 of some of its worst memories, and in particular the dramatic - but not fatal - accident of Niki Lauda on the Nürburgring circuit in Germany in 1976, it is nevertheless perceived as a miracle.
Because, despite the violence of the impact, during which his body collected 53 times its weight, Romain Grosjean managed to extricate himself, alone, from his tub.
His silhouette emerging from the fire, two minutes and forty-three seconds after leaving the track, pushed the 34-year-old Franco-Swiss pilot into another dimension.
A superhero in the eyes of his three children, he has also become a superstar.
"Now in F1, people know Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean," he jokes on the phone, his voice clear despite the lack of sleep.
From his hospital room where he underwent, the day before, an operation to treat his burnt hand and repair the ligament of his left thumb, he told us about his accident without losing his smile, which can be heard in each of his sentences.
Confidences of a survivor.
Your collision occurs from the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix, when the tension is greatest.
Do you remember?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN.
Yes, but at the time I didn't have time to realize it went too fast.
I didn't even feel when Daniil Kvyat (his teammate) hit me from the back.
From the moment there is contact and the moment my car comes to a stop after hitting the safety rail, it takes less than a second.
Do you feel the violence of the impact?
Absolutely not.
However, I take 53 G, that is to say 53 times the weight of my body!
It's the most violent shock of my career, but I don't realize it.
I'm just a little stunned.
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At the moment, you do not pass out?
No.
And luckily, otherwise I would be dead.
When the car comes to a stop after being cut in half by the rail, are you aware of death lurking?
No, I don't see the fire right away.
I try to get out of my bucket automatically.
First I undo my belt.
I don't need to take off my steering wheel, it was torn off on impact.
I try to get out, but my helmet is hitting something, I'm stuck.
I sit down and say to myself, “Okay, the security guys are going to come get me, I'm going to wait.
I look left, then right, and I see the flames.
I understand that I must not stay there, I repeat a test on the right, another on the left, but it still does not pass.
I sit down again and, there, I think it's the end.
I will die on November 29, 2020, in Bahrain.
My body relaxes, I am at peace with myself.
The only questions that come to me are, "Where is it going to burn first?"
Legs ?
Arms ?
The head ?
Will it hurt?
"And then, suddenly, I have a start, I think of my children and I repeat to myself:" No, it is not possible.
They cannot lose their father.
Not like that.
Not in Bahrain, not in F1, not now.
"
About twenty seconds have elapsed since the car was stopped.
What are you doing then?
I manage to turn my head a little to the left to slip between the rail and the safety halo
(Editor's note: a hoop above the driver)
, I leave my chest but my foot is stuck at the bottom of the frame.
I go back down into the flames, I pull my leg super hard, my shoe gets stuck in the car, but my foot manages to slide out and out.
There, I repeat the same movement on the left, I feel that my hands are burning.
My gloves, which are normally red, turn black, they are charred, it hurts.
But I lean on it to get out, I hoist my shoulders out of the car and I know that if they pass, I'll be able to pull myself out completely.
So I insist.
I pull my chest up onto the guardrail, put my foot on it, and there I feel Doctor Ian Roberts pulling on my suit.
I say to myself: “That's it, I'm not alone anymore.
I understand that I am saved.
It's an amazing feeling.
On November 29, on the Sakhir circuit, Romain Grosjean (right) emerges from the flames like a miracle, while Doctor Ian Roberts (center) comes to his aid.
Motorsport Images / Panoramic
How do the medical staff take care of you?
I take off my gloves right away, because I don't want my skin to stick to the fabric.
The doctor asks me to take off my watch too because I will inflate.
My hands are starting to hurt, especially my feet.
Looks like I have a tennis ball that grew on it, the sprain is huge!
They tell me to wait for the ambulance and I don't understand, I want to get up, go back on foot.
They are afraid that I have swallowed smoke, very hot air that may have damaged my lungs.
They come with a stretcher which I refuse.
I say, “No, no, no, I'm going to walk.
They are not really happy, but they accept.
They understand that for me this is essential.
I want everyone to know that I'm okay.
I stand up, there is nothing serious.
Do you think about your loved ones at this time?
Yes.
I know the helicopter is filming.
My family and friends are in front of the screen, I want them to see me walk.
Even though they saw me coming out of the flames, they don't know what state I am.
I want to reassure them.
I then joined the ambulance, I was really in pain.
Once inside, I jerk on the stretcher so much I tremble with pain!
At the medical center, before joining the hospital in Bahrain, my "friend" morphine relieves me a little.
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And you receive a visit from Jean Todt, the boss of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) ...
Yes, he asks me for Marion's number (
Editor's note: Jollès, his wife, presenter on TF1)
.
I learned it by heart, just in case.
Jean calls him.
He falls on the answering machine.
He redid the number, answering machine.
She ends up picking up.
Jean tells him that he is with me and I scream behind him: “Mosquito, it's me!
Mosquito is the nickname I give to my wife.
I heard his relief, a laugh between sobs.
I was able to tell him that I was fine, that my lungs were not affected.
Moreover, as soon as I passed someone, anyone, a nurse, a doctor, a general at the military hospital, I repeated the diagnosis: “A broken foot, two burnt hands;
a broken foot, two burnt hands.
I wanted people to know exactly what I had so that it could be fixed asap.
My hands are my work tool, I need them.
Have your loved ones seen the live footage?
Yes, Marion was watching the Grand Prix with our kids and my dad.
Fortunately his wife was there too: when the accident happened, she immediately took the children out of the room.
By the time Marion came back to see them to tell them that dad was fine, they had eaten all the Kinder in the house!
How did you discuss it with your children?
As soon as I arrived in the intensive care of the hospital, after the first exams, I made a WhatsApp video with them.
We talked a lot.
I answered all of their questions.
Sacha, my oldest of 7, thought that I was going to be all black, like a log in the fire!
He was relieved to see that I was "normal".
Simon, 5, asked me if I had closed my eyes in the blaze.
And Camille, who is going to be 3 years old, repeated to me: “Daddy, bobo?
We made another video the next day.
They wanted to know if I cried, how I got out of the car.
Simon was convinced that I had flown, protected by a shield of love that makes me invincible!
On the third day, when I called, they just said "hi dad", and they left to play, I was glad they got on with their lives.
VIDEO. Romain Grosjean: "Without the halo, I wouldn't be here to talk to you"
Have you seen these images yourself?
Yes.
I needed it to understand what happened.
They are even more shocking than what I have experienced from the inside.
When I'm standing near the ambulance, I don't recognize myself.
My eyes are glassy and I'm white as an overcooked custard!
I also watched the film from the on-board camera, which is attached to the pilot's helmet: it is even more appalling.
I hope we will use it one day to explain to young pilots how not to panic, how to levitate out.
You said you thought of Jules Bianchi, the last driver to die, in 2015, following his accident in F1 ...
Yeah, in a way he saved my life.
The safety halo was introduced after his accident and, without it, I would have been beheaded.
Jules is no longer there, but I would love to give him a hug and say thank you!
I never ride without the JB17 logo on my helmet.
A few days ago his parents sent me his in miniature.
I put it on my desk, next to the "Bahrain, 29.11.2020" plaque.
Did you have time to be afraid?
At the time, no.
Today I have flashbacks at times, but I work on them with my psychologist so that it doesn't cripple me in the future.
Don't let that haunt me either.
Even today, the hardest part is when I think of the shock my family and friends had at the broken up and burning car.
I realize that it was extremely hard for them.
Romain Grosjean competed in 179 Formula 1 Grands Prix between 2009 and 2020. Here, February 19, at the Barcelona circuit, Spain.
Mark Thompson / Getty
Have you forgotten the risks of Formula 1?
No, I know death can happen at any time.
Before leaving for Bahrain to compete in the last three races of the season, I sat down with Marion, gave her the coordinates of the people to contact to access my accounts, in case something happened to me.
At the start of the year, we also had a discussion about my insurance, because there are different formulas, all very expensive, of course.
You wanted to get back behind the wheel on December 13 in Abu Dhabi, which was to be the last race of your F1 career.
It must have been heartbreaking to give it up ...
I postponed this decision as long as I could.
But, a week after the accident, on Sunday morning of the second Bahraini Grand Prix, I felt that I was not going to be able to be at the start in Abu Dhabi the following week.
When I saw the condition of my left hand, I realized that I would not be able to.
The hardest thing to accept is in the details and the symbols: not being able to say goodbye to F1, not making a "donut" (
Editor's note: celebration which consists of spinning the rear wheels to release a cloud of smoke
) to the arrival, give up wearing the helmet customized by my children for the occasion ...
You were considering the rest of your career in Formula E (electric), IndyCar or endurance.
Does this call your plans into question?
Today, I give myself time.
I need to move forward, but I'm not going to rush into a project that I only half-feel.
I am an entrepreneur, I created an e-sport team in April, I am very involved.
I want to make the right choices.
Especially since my image has totally changed in a few days ...
What do you mean ?
Before, on social media, I received a lot of criticism because of my results for the last two years, which were complicated.
People saw something else in the accident.
They made me sort of a superhero, even though I don't think of myself as that.
They saw me come out of the fire, I proved that I had courage and great mental strength.
How has this accident changed you?
Death was ten centimeters from my face!
Today I am lucky, I am happy.
I was born a second time, on November 29, 2020, in Bahrain.
It's up to me to give meaning to this new life.