Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton won a crash-marred Bahrain Grand Prix where Romain Grosjean somehow escaped with only minor burns after his car exploded into a fireball.
The 34-year-old French driver slid off the track Sunday at high speed on the first lap and his Haas car burst into flames after being sliced in two by a barrier.
Grosjean clambered out with the fire roaring behind him and his race helmet singed. He was conscious and stable and then taken by helicopter to a military hospital.
Governing body FIA said in a statement Grosjean was staying overnight in a military hospital to have treatment for burns on the back of both hands, but that he did not have any fractures despite hitting the barriers at an estimated speed of at least 200 kph (125 mph).
Late on Sunday, F1 posted a video of a smiling Grosjean speaking from his hospital bed.
“Just wanted to say I am OK,” Grosjean said. “Thank you very much for all the messages.”
The crash happened with seven-time F1 champion Hamilton leading from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Racing Point’s Sergio Perez.
Hamilton, who secured his title at the Turkish GP on November 15, was subdued and did not celebrate his win after climbing out of his car, other than a brief fist-pump with the Red Bull drivers.
“It was such a shocking image to see … horrifying. It could have been so much worse,” Hamilton said. “I respect the dangers that are in this sport.”
Moments after the race restarted about 90 minutes later, on Lap 3 of 57, there was another incident as Lance Stroll’s Racing Point clipped the AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat and flipped over.
Stroll joked about hanging upside down in his car, before squirming out. The Canadian driver was unharmed.
Kvyat was involved in both crashes but not at fault.
The first accident happened when Grosjean lost grip and slid to the right, where his back wheel clipped the front of Kvyat’s car and he flew off into the barrier.
“At first I was angry that he had turned across me in the way he did, but that changed as soon as I saw the flames and what happened in my mirrors,” Kvyat said. “I was really worried. It was a scary moment.”
Hamilton’s record-extending 95th win saw him finish ahead of Verstappen, who took his 41st career podium and a bonus point with the fastest lap.
The 35-year-old Hamilton looked drained at the end.
“It’s physical, this track has always been physical. We’ve got lots of high-speed corners so I was definitely feeling it,” he said.
The Briton has now led more laps this season than of any year in his F1 career, while claiming his 11th triumph of 2020.
If he wins the final two rounds here in Bahrain next Sunday and at the season-decider in Abu Dhabi on December 13, he will match Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel’s joint record for the most number of victories in a year.
Hamilton has a huge lead with 332 points compared to 201 for Valterri Bottas and 189 for Verstappen, who finished ahead of third-placed Alexander Albon and can still catch Bottas.
Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo, who is lying sixth overall in the season’s standings, finished seventh in his Renault.