Grojean Haas

[ChrisA]

Have many of you heard about Grojean's wrecked Haas going on display in Madrid. Car was totally burned out, but showing it? I might be misunderstood thinking it a good idea. Comments????

[Richard C]

I have seen the news items on it. If used as an example of how to improve safety vs. some type of "spectacle" then I see nothing wrong with it. I fully expect it is being used to tell a positive story. I would assume Haas would still own the chassis and probably that it is probably on loan???

Richard

[ChrisA]

Reading Haas website I get the impression that the chassis still belongs to them.

[VIVA GT]

I think it's a good thing that the chassis is being displayed as it does show F1 in a very positive light.
To those of us 'believers' (OK, 'enthusiasts') it is an excellent example of how (relatively) safe the cars have become. We all saw the spectacular accident and know that the driver managed to get out of the car alive, which is something that didn't happen not that many years ago. (It also serves as a useful example of why F1 cars are getting bigger & heavier - see the other discussion thread in this forum).
To the more 'casual' fan/observer, they will have had the 'wow factor' of seeing the accident (and may have watched in many times for that reason). Knowing again that the driver managed to get out of this wreck alive has got to be a good thing for them.
I suppose it's like looking at the results of any accident (train/car/plane crash for example) and knowing that no-one died does have a certain feel-good factor to it (as opposed to the mawkish behaviour of 'some' people who appear to take pleasure of looking at things that didn't have such a pleasant outcome).

[Akrapovic]

If Grosjean is ok with it then I'm fine with it.

F1 received a lot of criticism for the halo (including from me). This really is a great opportunity for them to showcase what the halo and other features have done to save lives.

The item is meant to make you feel a bit uncomfortable. It's meant to make you cringe and be like "how did anyone survive this?".

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

If Grosjean is ok with it then I'm fine with it.

Grosjean shared his personal recollection of the harrowing incident:

“From my point of view, it was a big accident but I didn’t realise the impact or how violent it was from the outside. It was only the next day when I asked someone to show me what it looked like that I realised. My wife was actually watching that race with my dad and my kids. They will remember that moment their entire life. They were just spectators waiting to hear something… waiting to see something from Bahrain. I had to break the headrest, punching it with my helmet and then I eventually managed to get my helmet through and stand up in the seat. I realised my left foot was stuck into the chassis and I pulled as hard as I could on my left leg. My shoe stayed in the chassis but my foot came loose so I was free to exit the car. It was 120 kilos of fuel plus the battery – both were on fire. Dr Ian Roberts, Alan [van der Merwe] from the medical car and one fireman were trying to open a gap in the fire to help me get out. I believe that helped me at least to get a vision of where I had to go and where the exit was. The survival cell is there for you in case of a huge impact. I was intact inside the shell. The chassis is still in one piece, the halo is there and apart from the damage and burn it is still as it should be. I guess that saved my life.”


'The crash sparked widespread discussion into driver and track safety, which has been an area of constant improvement and innovations thanks to the ongoing investment in safety standards by the sport’s governing body, the FIA. The Exhibition’s display is dedicated to the pioneers who, throughout the history of Formula 1, have sacrificed to improve the sport’s safety.'


For me - two reasons why I think the display is a good idea.
1 - Initiatives that improve the safety of F1 should be recognised and plauded.
2 - If it provokes further discussion about F1 safety, that can only improve awareness of the hazards.

[S griffin]

It would have been a scary moment for him. He has a lot to thank the safety of F1 for him. However I hope that kind of accident never happens again. I thought the days of cars going through barriers were long gone. But the fire made it worse. It's thankful to things like the halo he got out and is able to continue racing.

So let's hope we never see the barriers splitting like that again. Really shows there are still areas of safety that need to improve, as that shouldn't have happened. And I don't need to reminded of that. We need them to race on circuits with enough safety, even if they aren't always 100% safe

[billy bleach]

The David Purley LEC F1 post Silverstone throttle jammed cassis was displayed at Donington for years. I think both are a demonstration of Human fortitude

[tux]

See, i think its a good idea because it shows what technology and engineering can achieve but there is a little part of me that thinks its a little double standards given the frustration of the coverage of the accident in the aftermath of the event by people within F1.

Still, like i said i think its a good idea because it shows what can be achieved with modern safety standards.

[Adam43]

Wasn’t the frustration of the coverage to do with what they showed before we knew he was OK?
I can’t actually remember. But now we are past and we know what happened and what the result was.

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by Adam43

Wasn’t the frustration of the coverage to do with what they showed before we knew he was OK?
I can’t actually remember. But now we are past and we know what happened and what the result was.

I can't really remember any criticism of coverage, but it has been awhile. I recent went back and watched the replay of the race and while you get the initial crash shown live as it happens, they cut away and didn't show anything else or show any replays until Grosjean is out and shown sitting in the medical car. Then they did show replays.

Richard

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

I can't really remember any criticism of coverage.....

Nor me....

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by tux

the frustration of the coverage of the accident in the aftermath of the event by people within F1.

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

I can't really remember any criticism of coverage,

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Nor me....

The criticism at the time that received most attention came from Daniel Ricciardo. His comments were:

"I’m disgusted and disappointed with Formula One for showing or choosing the way to show it as they did, and broadcast replays after replays after replays of the fire, and his car split in half. And then, like that’s not enough, they go to his onboard. Why do we need to see this? We’re competing again in an hour. His family has to keep watching that. All our families have to keep watching that ... It’s really unfair. It’s not entertainment. To show it like it’s something from Hollywood, it’s not cool. Choose to do that tomorrow, but not today."

Other comments included Bottas: "I feel like people, spectators want to see it. But there’s a limit as well. It could have been a fraction different, the shunt, and there would have been no way for him to get out of the car."

and Vettel: "Once I got the message he was out of the car, obviously it was a big relief. Then I didn't look at the images too much. I went to my room and just waited to get ready again, which I guess was a good thing. I disagree with the fact you have to show the images over and over again. In the end, we are human beings racing, and not objects. I know people like the car being on fire, and crashes, and it's exciting, but actually it's not so exciting when you're in the car. Maybe it's something we can learn, that we don't need to repeat showing the images. But as I said, I deliberately tried not to look at the images too much. Once I heard that he was OK, obviously that was the main relief."

[Aysedasi]

Yes, I do now remember Ricciardo's comments. I think it's inevitable that once it is known that the driver has survived without major injury, then the broadcaster will inevitably want to show it - repeatedly. Perhaps it's because I'm older and to a degree I'm enured to it. If the broadcasters had chosen not to show the accident, there would have been a clamour to do so - as he wasn't hurt....