A Race Car Crash From Hell—and the Science That Saved Its Driver

LAST SUNDAY’S MAYHEM started, as mayhem often does, with just the slightest nudge. Formula One cars leapt off the starting line of the Bahrain International Circuit, clustered together to gain early position in the cramped, frenzied, critical opening lap, swerving a sharp right around the first turn like a herd of hungry predators chasing panicked prey. 

It was all normal so far for the sport, which is popular precisely because of its roaring engines and jaw-clenching acceleration. The race cars’ oversized tires, spinning at unimaginable speeds, roared a less acute left around turn two, then a swerve around turn three that was virtually a gentle angle in the world of racing. 

That’s when disaster struck. Romain Grosjean’s car drifted to the right. Weaving through a labyrinth of potential catastrophes is part of the appeal for race drivers; they have to navigate this high-speed maze using reflexes, skill, and grit, dodging each other and risking injury and death in the process. But during Grosjean’s drift, which was perfectly normal on its own, his whirring massive right rear tire and the left front tire of car 26 glanced together. They bumped, and that bump was enough.

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-Gary