Ex-Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean doesn’t mind that new F1 fans remember him purely for his terrifying crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, where his car speared through a barrier and burst into a horrifying fireball.
That race was actually the last in the Frenchman’s F1 career, as his injuries ruled him out of the final two races in the 2020 season.
For many, Grosjean’s crash is the scariest that they’ll ever see in F1, with the IndyCar driver having taken 28 seconds to climb out of the inferno, before heroically jumping over the barrier and out of the fire.
Unsurprisingly, many remember his career for that moment, despite the fact his journey in F1 actually started in the second half of the 2009 season.
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Grosjean’s career was one of ups-and-downs, with the Frenchman having claimed 10 podiums, whilst having also been the cause of so many incidents.
Despite it all, though, Grosjean finds it “funny” that his career is remembered in the way it is, something that is simply “part of my life”.
“No, I don’t care. It’s part of my career; it’s part of my life,” Grosjean told GQ, when asked if he’s bothered about fans remembering him for his crash.
“Especially in the U.S., because the audience is very new to Formula 1, a lot of people remember that accident, and they have never seen my podiums back in 2012 and 2013.
“I almost won three races in Formula 1, and it never really happened for outside reasons. But it’s quite funny.
“I met some people that know of me since the Lotus days in Formula 1 and say they’ve been watching it all. And I watch a lot of younger people, younger audience, they have only seen Drive to Survive on Netflix. So they talk about Guenther Steiner and ask how he is in real life, and of course the accident.
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“But I think the accident, it’s one of those things that kind of marked the world. It was pretty much on every TV you could switch on. It was very impressive.
“That’s the way I see that: “phoenix.” It’s the rise from something bad. It’s not necessarily related to the fire, but it’s how you can rise from something that could destroy you but use it in a positive way and rise from there.
“So yeah, the crash is definitely part of my career, part of my life. And I’ve got the scar from my left hand that’s going to be here forever. So it’s a good reminder that’s here, but it’s just not that. It’s a bit more than that. And I see it as just part of my journey, like any podium. It’s just something crazy, but turned out to be good.”