Lucky Bastard of the Year award for 2020 goes to

**Eirikur** · 29 November 2020, 16:57

You can call it lucky, I would say great engineering.

**Mordac** · 29 November 2020, 16:57

Originally posted by DaveB View Post

Romain Grosjean

Romain Grosjean's miraculous escape from fireball crash which tore car in half - YouTube

I saw that 'live' and my first thought was 'he's not walking away from that'. About a minute later, he did.

**ladymuck** · 29 November 2020, 18:10

Originally posted by Eirikur View Post

You can call it lucky, I would say great engineering.

Yes, the car is designed to crumple and absorb impact and the cockpit is designed to do the opposite!

**eek** · 29 November 2020, 18:24

Originally posted by ladymuck View Post

Yes, the car is designed to crumple and absorb impact and the cockpit is designed to do the opposite!

I think it's more than that - without the halo he would have been sliced in half

**northernladuk** · 30 November 2020, 01:04

Originally posted by eek View Post

I think it's more than that - without the halo he would have been sliced in half

I'd agree with that although the halo wasn't designed to keep the drivers tub for ripping in two was it? It's certainly saved him from being decapitated as it's slid under the fence though. That said looks like if he hadn't gone 2 or so feet through he'd have been trapped. Some amazing engineering helped with the car and his overalls for sure but a massive luck not to get wedged in.

Amazing stuff.

That said I'd be looking at the quality of the matshals. One or two people, particulary from the car dove straight in, no questions. Outstanding. The first marshall with the first extiguisher coming from inside the track no so by a long way. Not the only one that looked slightly less than effective either.

Hope he's OK physically and mentally and he's back in the seat quick.

**WTFH** · 30 November 2020, 12:05

https://twitter.com/HaasF1Team/statu...40470604701699

He seems to be in good form.

**northernladuk** · 30 November 2020, 12:54

Originally posted by WTFH View Post

https://twitter.com/HaasF1Team/statu...40470604701699

He seems to be in good form.

Great stuff. I'm sure he won't forget something like that but I hope someone could capture the moment for him like they did the Jos Verstappen pit fire. One in a lifetime moment and a picture for posterity.

**d000hg** · 30 November 2020, 15:24

This was very lucky despite the amazing engineering and overall safety processes. The car is not supposed to split in that way, it is not supposed to catch fire when it crashes, and the barriers are not supposed to behave that way.

The accident is maybe a 1:1000 unlucky event, that he avoided being knocked out or stuck in the cockpit awaiting rescue is possibly 1:1000 lucky.

Did you see that right after the restart, Stroll got his car flipped upside down on about the 2nd corner - and again was protected by the halo?

**northernladuk** · 30 November 2020, 15:59

Originally posted by d000hg View Post

Did you see that right after the restart, Stroll got his car flipped upside down on about the 2nd corner - and again was protected by the halo?

Don't agree with that. The air intake behind the drivers head is the highest point of the car and rests on that and the nose upside down. It's been enough for drivers to get out of since it started. I do believe there were worries that the halo impeded the exit of an inverted vehicle not helped.

Stolls car came to rest on the air intake and halo so might have helped but I don't believe it protected him much.

I'm sure there will be some instance where it might help and some where it will do the opposite. Strolls was neither IMO.

Lucky Bastard of the Year award for 2020 goes to