Romain Grosjean to work with psychologist on the fact he "made people suffer"

Romain Grosjean

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Grosjean to work with psychologist on the fact he "made people suffer"

French driver is recuperating physically and mentally from Bahrain GP crash

Ian Parkes

Wednesday 9 December 2020 07:29

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Romain Grosjean has confirmed he will work with a psychologist to overcome the mental effects of a crash in which he almost lost his life whilst also recognising the fact he "made people suffer".

Grosjean is acutely aware that due to the violent nature of his accident in the Bahrain Grand Prix, which resulted in an immediate inferno upon impact with a barrier, that no information about his status was relayed for almost three minutes.

Television pictures were barred until it became clear Grosjean was relatively unharmed, leading to family, friends and colleagues fearing for his safety during that agonising time.

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The French driver, who has worked closely with a psychologist over the years since his horrific crash on the opening lap of the 2012 Belgian GP that led to him serving a one-race ban, knows continued counselling will now play a major role in his mental health recovery moving forward.

“What is the hardest?" questioned Grosjean. "For me it is not what I went through, this is my life, my job and the risk we take, but it is what I put people through - my family, my parents, my wife, my kids, my friends.

"For two minutes 43 [seconds] they thought their friend, their husband, their father was dead, and that is what I am working on because that is what made me cry, that I made people suffer to that extent.”

Grosjean, recuperating at his home in Switzerland from the burns sustained to the backs of his hands, recognises that for him to make a comeback it is crucial that at whatever time he does so he will need to be in the right frame of mind.

"The [work with the] psychologist we haven’t stopped," added Grosjean, who has already held some sessions since the crash.

"For eight years we have been working together. She just said ‘Look, there will be post-trauma things so we just need to treat them very early’.

“We haven’t had any bad surprises. So far I haven’t had any nightmares, haven’t had any flashback.

"I can talk you through everything very calmly, and the fact that I made people suffer, that is what we are going to work on."