Mercedes would have withdrawn from Bahrain GP had Romain Grosjean's injuries been more serious

Bahrain Grand Prix

Mercedes would have withdrawn from Bahrain GP had Grosjean's injuries been more serious

Grosjean was taken to hospital with suspected broken ribs and minor burns following his lap one incident

Ewan Gale

Sunday 29 November 2020 20:29

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff revealed he would have withdrawn the team's entry from the Bahrain Grand Prix had Romain Grosjean suffered more serious injuries in his lap one incident.

Grosjean had to free himself from his burning Haas which had split into two after piercing the metal retaining barrier on the exit of turn three. The Frenchman was subsequently taken to hospital with minor burns and suspected broken ribs, although team boss Guenther Steiner has since confirmed the driver has no broken bones.

When asked if he had considered withdrawing his Mercedes from the race in the wake of the accident and if he had consulted drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas on this, Wolff said: "We had a short conversation in his [Lewis'] room to discuss the accident but at that stage, we already saw that Romain was out of the car.

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"I think, if god beware, he had been injured more than that, we would have probably pulled out of the race in this day and age. A man's health and life is much more important than racing."

Once it was made clear Grosjean was, for the most part, ok following the incident, harrowing images were circulated showing the recovery phase as he extracted himself from the wreckage with the assistance of Dr Ian Roberts.

But despite the graphic nature of the incident, Wolff insisted that Formula One Management had to be transparent following such situations in the event of a driver walking away.

"I think in the modern world, you are not able to hide anything anymore," he explained. "If FOM is not showing it, then someone else is going to have a mobile phone there and film so we need to be transparent.

"Those images were frightening and graphic but if you are not transparent as an organisation, you are just taking the risk that somebody else shows stuff that is beyond your control."