It's difficult to imagine the terror that must have surged through Romain Grosjean's soul as the flames raged around his cockpit in Bahrain.
Two races from retirement, the 34-year-old Frenchman felt the rising heat and saw only blinding orange flame through his visor and knew he was trapped.
He thought of his parents, his two young sons, aged seven and five, and his daughter just two and then he admitted: “I saw death coming.” Twice he tried to get out and twice he failed.
Thoughts of his children spurred him to put his hands on the red hot cockpit sides and then the halo to fight for life.
He had left the track at 221kph (137mph) and the impact was measured at 53G; surely the biggest of modern times. He came to a halt in less than seven feet, his car broken in two and buried in an inferno.
Fans later voted the Haas racer as Driver of the Day. They weren’t only voting for his racing skill. It was a vote of compassion, a vote for all of humanity; it was a vote for and from everyone who fights this battle called life and wins a day at a time.
Unfortunately, most of us do not have a multi-million dollar safety industry behind us, nor the remarkable FIA safety machine, or courageous, highly-skilled doctors nine seconds away when the crucial moment comes.
People talk of the miracle but there was more than one on that day.
The halo that saved Grosjean’s life had only been introduced a couple of years ago and without it his helmet and head would have taken much of the impact of the upper rail. Could he have survived that? I doubt it.
Had many in F1 got their way at the time, including Grosjean, it would never have been introduced.
That it did was down to FIA president Jean Todt, a curiously cold fish who is difficult to warm up to but, easy to admire. This week he must be applauded for helping to save a life.
It’s a miracle, too, that only recently Alpinestars have again uprated their remarkable race overalls. Tested in a 1000 degree Celsius burner, race suits have to last a regulation 12 seconds, shoes and gloves 11 seconds and the palm of the gloves (where feeling is needed to drive) eight.
Does the four seconds explain the difference between burned hands and untouched body? And demonstrate just how close he came? Gripping red hot bodywork unquestionably had an effect too.
The miracle of the fire is manyfold. Max Verstappen’s dad, Jos, described a similar moment in his Benetton in 1994.
“All I could see was black,” he said. “The fire feeds on the air and I couldn’t breathe,” He was in the pitlane and it lasted just seconds but the next breath would have been fire.
Grosjean leapt free after 28 seconds – an age in such circumstances – but the flames had been held at bay by helmet and balaclava.
The flames are actually what makes it so shocking. That is not supposed to happen in F1.
And this is where the amazement, relief and gratitude must give way to cold hard science because there are difficult issues to be faced by the accident investigation.
Questions must be asked of the barrier. Having a strong steel support connected to weaker fencing is a recipe for disaster, surely. The remarkable survival cell saved him from the impact but the car’s back was broken.
And then there is the angle of the barrier to the track. Another question mark.
There is also the key issue of how and why the fuel escaped. F1 systems are designed with seals to prevent spills.
It was confirmation that, for all the advances, the risks in F1 are still enormous. That’s why drivers are paid as much as they are. “It’s never enough when you are risking your life,” Ayrton Senna told me once.
The miracle continues, though, because Grosjean was released from hospital just three days later and is determined to end his F1 career in Abu Dhabi in the cockpit, a week on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton is also hoping to be cleared to race after contracting the coronavirus.
There was shock he had tested positive after the extreme isolation of a support bubble of just two other people.
It must have been a mirage then when I saw him leap into the arms of a dozen sweaty mechanics after winning his seventh world title in Turkey. I guess the virus didn’t get the memo that it was a special occasion.
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka
Bantamweight
Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad
Welterweight
Amir Boureslan bt Mahmoud Zanouny
Featherweight
Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov
Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa
Middleweight
Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi
Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou
Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti
Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous
Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro
Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The Indoor Cricket World Cup
When: September 16-23
Where: Insportz, Dubai
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
