Former Formula One driver Romain Grosjean was left furious at IndyCar’s exhibition Thermal $1million Challenge on Sunday after he was crashed into on the opening lap of the first heat race.
Just minutes after the first heat began on the 17-turn, 3.067-mile raceway, Scott Dixon ran into the back of Grosjean.
It caused the Frenchman to spin wildly into Rinus VeeKay, who then clipped Christian Lundgaard. Dixon was given an avoidable contact penalty as Grosjean, who moved to IndyCar from Formula 1, seethed.
‘I mean, who is going to pay for the damage? We come here with no points on the line and do nothing wrong and the car is completely smashed,’ Grosjean fumed after walking from his crashed car along the private members-only road course back to pit road.
‘It’s not what I signed (up for) with IndyCar.’
Romain Grosjean was left furious after crashing out at IndyCar’s latest event in California
Just minutes after the first heat began, Scott Dixon ran into the back of the French driver
It caused the former F1 driver to spin into Rinus VeeKay, who clipped Christian Lundgaard
The 37-year-old entered IndyCar in 2021 after nine full seasons in F1. He escaped a fiery crash in Bahrain near the end of the 2020 season that nearly killed him and also ended his F1 career.
The 37-year-old entered IndyCar in 2021 after nine full seasons in F1
Grosjean is in his first season with Juncos Hollinger Racing – the third team in four years for Grosjean – and the tiny organization doesn’t have the same operating budget as the top IndyCar teams.
The French-Swiss former Formula One driver entered IndyCar for one season with tiny Dale Coyne Racing before earning a shot with Andretti Global.
He spent two rocky season with Andretti, and his run ended with Grosjean and team personnel screaming at each other at the end of a qualifying session.
Andretti elected not to extend Grosjean’s contract and he went on to join JHR. The Juncos outfit expanded to two cars last season to accommodate Argentinian driver Agustin Canapino.
Grosjean is winless through three seasons and finished 13th in the IndyCar standings for Andretti last year. He had consecutive runner-up finishes at Long Beach and Barber Motorsports Park, but his season performance tailed off dramatically after the Indianapolis 500.
He escaped a fiery crash in Bahrain near the end of the 2020 season that nearly killed him
Romain Grosjean says he’s ‘sort of ok’ in Instagram update
In 2020, Grosjean was lucky to survive a horrific crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix. He was going 119 mph when he hit a metal crash barrier and his car exploded into a fireball around him.
The impact was estimated at 67Gs, a force equivalent to 67 times his body weight. By comparison, heavy braking in an F1 car produces about 6 Gs.
The French driver made an astonishing escape from the raging furnace.
Grosjean’s Haas car sliced in half after penetrating the barrier and quickly caught fire. He was trapped inside the cockpit for 27 seconds before scrambling out, yanking his jammed foot out of his racing boot in order to do so.
He suffered only minor burns to the back of his hands and a sprained left ankle, and was discharged from hospital soon after.
The crash happened on the opening lap when the right rear wheel of his car clipped the left front wheel of Russian driver Daniil Kvyat’s AlphaTauri, when attempting to pass from the left to right-hand side of the Sakhir track.
The ring-shaped halo device at the front of Grosjean’s cockpit protected his head by withstanding the huge impact, and he credited it with saving his life.
