Doctors Who Had 'Very Small Window' To Save Romain Grosjean Hailed As Heroes

Romain Grosjean is a lucky, lucky boy.

He knows that.

We know that.

And the medical staff that were on hand to save him certainly know that.

The Frenchman had to be pulled from the blazing wreckage after his Haas car burst into flames on the first lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Footage shows that Grosjean was accidentally clipped by another driver, which forced his car to go flying into the circuit barriers at 137mph.

The horrific crash resulted in his car splitting into two and engulfing into a fireball.

PA

With Grosjean frantically trying to escape the furnace, F1 fans from around the globe held their collective breath and prayed for the driver.

But thankfully, FIA medical staff arrived on the scene within seconds to help him escape from the huge fire and toxic fumes.

Grosjean miraculously only walked away from the scary moment with burns to his hands.

And while Grosjean himself did well to remain somewhat composed during the ordeal, the medics on hand deserve all the plaudits for potentially saving his life.

Dr Ian Roberts was the first on the scene.

"I think I told him to sit down," Roberts said.

"Obviously, he was very shaky and his visor was completely opaque and in fact melted.

"I had to get his helmet off just to check that everything else was OK. He'd got some pain in his foot and his hands.

"From that point we knew it was safe enough to move him around into the car just to give him a bit more protection, get some gel onto his burns and then get him into the ambulance off to the medical centre."

FIA Medical car driver Alan van der Merwe said preparation was key in getting to Grosjean as quickly as possible.

"I've not seen fire like this in my stint as the Medical Car driver," van der Merwe said.

"A lot of it is new and unknown territory, so we can only be prepared as our own ideas.

"We do a lot of checklist and scene prep, talking about scenarios, but this was crazy - to get there and see one half of the car, with the other nowhere to be seen, and a huge ball of flames.

"So you're thinking on your feet. Preparation only gets you so far and after that there's instinctive and quick thinking."

Once on the scene, medics didn't have long to spring into action.

"There was a fire marshal rapidly on scene and that push of the extinguisher, the powder pushed the flames back enough, once Romain was high enough we could get him over the barrier and away," Roberts said.

"But it was a very small window because as soon as the extinguisher powder went forward, the flames were coming back pretty soon afterwards."

And while the medics on scene have received global praise for their fast-thinking and selfless actions, the duo have shifted the praise onto Grosjean himself.

"Ultimately Ian (Roberts) has to rely on me, and vice versa. But today, everybody did their bit," van der Merwe said.

"Even Romain, Romain did a huge amount. The fact he was able to get out of that himself, the fact that his shoe came off, these small things... one of those things changed and it could have been a very different outcome.

"Today, all the teamwork, all the prep, it feels worthwhile."

Hats off to Roberts, van der Merwe and everyone involved.

Heroes.

Topics: injury, Formula 1, F1, Australia, Romain Grosjean,

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry