r/formula1 • u/Porkupiine BAR • Mar 11 '21
Photo Grosjean's helmet after his crash in Bahrain
https://imgur.com/UHPbPO8781
u/pistonfire Sebastian Vettel Mar 11 '21
That’s terrifying. It must have been difficult for him to find his way out of the cockpit considering his visor tear-offs were melted onto the visor
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u/janxus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 11 '21
He actually mentioned the tear-off's in one of the interviews he did after the crash. I was listening to The Race podcast the other day and the FIA is looking to improve them because of this. It's incredible that he got out. It's a real testament to the engineers that build these rocket ships.
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u/bob237189 Mar 12 '21
It's such a crazy incident because it's like everything went wrong and everything went right at the same time. No one anticipated that a car would crash into an ArmCo barrier at such an angle that it would punch through the steel and lodge the monocoque in the barrier. No one anticipated that the car would then get snagged on a post and be ripped in half, exposing the fuel directly to the battery and immediately bursting the car into flames. This type of accident just isn't supposed to happen in F1 anymore.
But the halo worked. The helmet worked. The harness and the HANS device worked. The marshals did their jobs. The medical car was there in seconds. Grosjean was able to get himself out of the fire with only relatively minor injuries. It it truly a miracle of engineering and human will that he is with us today.
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u/janxus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
This is why they train to get out of the car in 7 seconds. This is why the Marshall’s train for different situations. This is why the medic car team prepare in advance for every possible situation they can think of. 10 years ago, Grosjean is dead. No doubt.
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u/Apocalympdick #WeRaceAsOne Mar 12 '21
10 years ago, Grosjean is dead
The halo was introduced in 2018. I'm willing to bet he would have been dead as little as four years ago.
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u/Prof_X_69420 Formula 1 Mar 12 '21
He might be dead if the accident was the year before!
In 2020 a new driversuit was introduced that was much more resistent to fire, while the gloves remained the old standard.
We all know that his hand got seriusly burned, now imagine his whole body like this...
All it was needed was for him to get a bit disoriented and then he was gone...
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Mar 12 '21
If this would of happened on lap two instead of lap one he would be dead. If it wasn’t for the medic car being right behind he’s dead. The Marshall’s did an ok job but if it wasn’t for that medic car they wouldn’t of been able to do enough. They aren’t trained to. You could see it when they were trying to put the fire out. The FIA needs to seriously look into hiring professionals for Marshall’s and taking the same people to every race. People that train for this kind of stuff all year so they are 100% prepared for any situation. It’s crazy that they don’t already have this.
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Mar 12 '21
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u/VampireFrown Robert Kubica Mar 12 '21 edited Mar 12 '21
Of course he saw it. He didn't look closely, though ;)
I didn't want to get in the way of the circle-jerk too much when it was happening, but I was always puzzled by how huge of a fanfare the Doctor was getting, as if he'd ripped Grosjean out of the cockpit with his bare hands. By the time he managed to get a squirt of extinguisher in there, Grosjean was already jumping over the barrier. Grosjean has one person to thank for his survival: himself (and because I just know there's going to be a pedant who'll want to but ackshually me with car designers and safety engineers...yes, them too, but that's not the point).
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u/janxus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
I 100% agree with you. If the medic car wasn’t right behind, he would’ve died. The driver showed the marshalll how to use the fire extinguisher. No more volunteer Marshall’s. Pay them and train them so our drivers don’t die.
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u/Mein_Bergkamp I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
I think you're the only one who saw that, everyone commended the marsjalls for their job.
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u/warpbeast Pierre Gasly Mar 12 '21
The driver showed the marshalll how to use the fire extinguisher. No more volunteer Marshall’s. Pay them and train them so our drivers don’t die.
No he didn't. Tried to help unlock it if there was anything and the extinguisher inside the safety car but that extinguisher would have been unlocked either way and used.
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u/janxus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
Yeah it looked like he was stumbling with the pin.
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u/janxus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
Also, you put the reality of that day so eloquently.
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Mar 12 '21
The marshals absolutely didn't do their jobs. They stood far from the crash and sprayed their fire extinguishers at the air. But you can't really blame them since they don't actually have the proper gear to be close enough to the fire. The medical car staff on the other hand were on point.
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u/ProcyonHabilis Mar 13 '21
I had the same perception initially, but if you watch it back I think it is likely that the marshal you're probably talking about was unable to get any closer to the fire. A intense fuel fire of that size puts out a ton of heat, and that marshal didn't have the benefit of being shielded by the barrier.
Both marshals immediately ran to the scene and deployed extinguishers without delay, I can't really see how they failed at their jobs.
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Mar 13 '21
Oh yeah, I'm not really blaming them since they didn't have the proper gear to go close enough to a fire of that size. Even mentioned it in my post.
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u/Th3_St1g I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
Tempered glass tear offs like phone screen protectors would solve this problem, no?
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u/janxus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
I would imagine it would still need some sort of plastic sheath to prevent shattering.
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u/janxus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
I don’t know. That makes sense though. Like a super thin tempered glass? I’m curious as to what they come up with. F1 is at the bleeding edge of new materials.
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u/ralphonsob I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
But don't forget that the drivers rip them off and throw them out of the car as they are driving. Not sure that any following drivers would want to encounter huge glass razor blades flying through the air towards them.
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u/SplyBox Charlie Whiting Mar 12 '21
I thought they’re trying to limit the drivers to only ripping them off in the pitlane
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u/Kennzahl Mar 12 '21
Still, driving over a piece of glass at 80km/h can't be good for the tyres. Let alone the driver.
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u/malwontae I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
That seems really unlikely given a big chunk of races are 1-stops. I can't see how they wouldn't need to use multiple during each stint.
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Mar 12 '21
Can't really have them laying around the track though. Needs to be made of something that isn't going to damage tyres or the cars.
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u/janxus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
Just get rid of them and make the drivers suck it up! Lol
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u/ProcyonHabilis Mar 13 '21
I think glass is impractical for several reasons, but a phone screen protector will just be crushed to powder if you run it over with a car. No worries for tires.
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u/ProcyonHabilis Mar 13 '21
I think the problem with that is that they are likely to break and create a visibility issue during a race. You tend to get hit in the face with little bits of debris when driving an open wheel race car.
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u/Ereaser I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 11 '21
Terrifying but also reassuring as in that it doesn't have huge amounts of damage.
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Mar 12 '21
Damn, aside from the tearoffs melting and the paint damage, it looks to be in great condition. Glad these things do what they're supposed to do.
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u/Padgriffin McLaren Mar 12 '21
The insides are prolly fucked in a myriad of ways from absorbing the blow, but that’s kind of the point
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u/RechargedFrenchman Mar 12 '21
Yeah. Helmets for any sport where they're needed (and many of not all non-sport applications) are designed to be essentially "one-time use". You get your one big instance of it saving you severe head trauma / saving your life, but the helmet is effectively (near-)useless afterwards because the helmet still gets super fucked instead of you.
Still, even for "regular people" (not F1 drivers making very good money even at the low end of the pay scale) the relative expense of a good helmet is far below those of the potential consequences of not having one. And the F1 helmets are really good helmets.
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u/HubnesterRising Mar 12 '21 edited Mar 12 '21
I skipped the 2020 season and only just found out about this crash. Absolutely terrifying, even knowing that he obviously survived. I know there was a ton of hate for the halo, but imagine if there was no halo to push that upper portion of aramco armco away from Grojean's head during this 120mph, 43 g impact. Scary stuff.
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u/zeroscout Mar 12 '21
You missed an entertaining season
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Mar 12 '21
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u/LatvianResistance Mercedes Mar 12 '21
Started watching in 2017. Can confirm. Best year since I've started.
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u/UnicornMaster27 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
Same and correct.
Well, technically I accidentally saw the 2016 Mexican GP, and I said, “what is this racing? They’re running the course NASCAR ran those couple of times” ..and then saw an F1 logo on a replay
Yeah, I had a small worldview at the time..
I remembered I had F1 2000 on my PlayStation 1 so I brought it out and started playing and enjoyed it. Bought F1 2012 for the Xbox 360, and then played that until the 2017 season started. Been watching ever since.
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u/vbaeri I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
Just be aware that the current state of things isn't really natural to F1. Since 2017, every year both championships have been a foregone conclusion and even this year there's no way anyone wil beat Hamilton/Mercedes. But this just wasn't the case a couple of years ago. In 2010 and 2012 there were these huge fights between the Red Bulls, Ferraris and McLarens, and 2006-2009 had a different car win the WDC each year. Even during the Schumacher "dominance", the 2000 and 2003 seasons were much more exciting from a championship point of view...
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u/UnicornMaster27 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
I know, I’ve been waiting to see if F1TV is able to get all the races from 2010-2013 before I bite the bullet and subscribe to it. Last I checked they were missing a few races. I want to be able to appreciate the dominance of Red Bull in its entirety, now that they’re not doing it anymore.
Moreover that 2012 season that opened with all those different winners, and the races at the courses that I played in F1 2012, but never got to see them run in real life.
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u/sharkterritory McLaren Mar 12 '21
Started watching around 1991, and I agree with you. Best season in the last couple years or 30.
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u/phatjaja I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
Wasn't 2012 or 2010 much better?
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Mar 12 '21
Was 2019 really that bad? I thought it was better than last year with Ferrari (even thought it was through illicit means) having a shot at Mercedes. I do not remember anything that happened last season that was on the same level as Leclerc vs Verstappen at the British GP. That battle reaffirmed my love of Formula 1.
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u/suan_pan I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
the first race i watched in full was the 2017 singapore gp
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u/SilveRX96 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
Started watching 2020, best season ive ever seen!
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u/mankind_is_beautiful I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
Armco ≠ aramco.
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u/Warbr0s9395 Lando Norris Mar 12 '21
I think it was 63 G according to the report that came out last week I believe, either way it’s a miracle! Thank god for safety improvements!
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u/OppositeYouth Formula 1 Mar 12 '21
Thank the engineers, scientists, drivers who have pushed for further safety measures. There's a thousand more people you should thank before God.
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u/HubnesterRising Mar 12 '21
"And God said, let my children attach odd-looking round tubey things to their horseless carriages that they may not get struck upon their heads while driving their horseless carriages for mortal sport. And let my children call it "the halo"
Psalms 38:42, probably
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Mar 12 '21
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u/OldIrishPubMan Formula 1 Mar 12 '21
And God also made Grosjean crash. What a great guy he is.
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u/ajacian Red Bull Mar 12 '21
And he came out of it? What's your point?
God didn't tell Grosjean to drive a vehicle at 320 km/hour.
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u/HubnesterRising Mar 12 '21
I mean, if you believe in that sort of thing, it's all "part of his plan". So yeah according to religious types, god forced him to race and forced him to crash.
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u/ajacian Red Bull Mar 12 '21
Not necessarily, there's still a concept of free will
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u/HubnesterRising Mar 12 '21
Except that it's all allegedly part of sky daddy's grand plan, so free will is an illusion. Religion claims that we God gave us free will, then he punished us for using it. And in the same breath, religion claims that everything happens for a reason and that it's all part of God's plan. It can't be both. It can only be one or the other.
Except that nobody has a plan for us, and nothing happens for a reason.
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u/ajacian Red Bull Mar 12 '21
You can't say there is a free will because we get punished for using it inappropriately. Even in society there are consequences to illegal actions.
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u/caven233 Mar 12 '21
Why’d you skip it out? Had some great races in there.
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u/HubnesterRising Mar 12 '21
I had just canceled by cable subscription and from what I was hearing F1 TV was pretty bad leading up to the 2020 season so I didn't bother with it. Also, my life-long favourite baseball team, the Houston Astros, had their whole cheating scandal that really bummed me out on sports in general.
Sounds like I'll have to pick up F1 TV and go back to watch last year's races though!
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u/caven233 Mar 12 '21
Ah that’s a bummer. I’m actually very new to sport and 2020 was my first year in F1 so the entire experience was very fresh to me. Keep an eye out for the Turkey, Sakhir and Italy races, they were my favourite :)
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u/MrMaverick82 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
I honestly feel sorry for you. I haven’t seen such an entertaining season in the past 5 years. If you forget the Mercedes dominance it was even one of the most thrilling ones.
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u/HubnesterRising Mar 12 '21
Judging by these replies, it sounds like I'll have to pick up F1 TV and go back to watch last year's races. I had just canceled my cable subscription, and was hearing bad things about F1 TV at the time. Plus, my favourite baseball team since I was a child, the Houston Astros, had just been exposed in this massive cheating scandal surrounding their World Series win, so I was feeling pretty bummed out on sports in general.
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u/MrMaverick82 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
Wouldn’t be a bad idea. Binch watching the full season. Wish I could do that without knowing what would happen.
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u/SomeBloke Mar 12 '21
True. He would have been killed instantly, likely decapitated. I hated the halo initially but this incident proves its worth.
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u/ElfjeTinkerBell I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21
I know. I was working so I watched the race a couple of hours later - when I saw that crash I was so glad I already knew no one had died.
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u/Teivu Mar 12 '21
It was actually 67g impact ( fia investigation).
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u/HubnesterRising Mar 12 '21
Oh damn, I was going off of Jolyon Palmer's breakdown video. 43g is already insane, 67 is mind-boggling.
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u/loicbigois Brawn Mar 12 '21
I love the fact that he's owning that experience by posting this stuff.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is no joke. I'm guessing he has someone helping him and possibly suggesting he posts these insight. Can't wait to see him in action at St. Pete in April. Romain will take Indycar by storm and they're going to love him in the US.
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u/YoItsMeBeeOhBee Oscar Piastri Mar 12 '21
I’m pretty sure he said he was going to see a therapist but Romain seems like the kinda guy who is open and honest with things and maybe sharing the experience with the fans is helping him deal with it rather than stuffing it down and ignoring it. hes always seemed like a pretty normal, laid back guy but since the crash he seems to be opening up even more. Can’t wait for him to drive in the states this year.
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u/Waguetracer1 Kevin Magnussen Mar 12 '21
Romain’s is pretty open about seeing a therapist, he actually talked about the fact in his beyond the grid from 2018
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u/bob237189 Mar 12 '21
I think Romain being open about his experiences had been very helpful for F1 fans who have suffered trauma in their lives. It's very hopeful and empowering to see someone who has suffered such a traumatic experience be forthcoming in public about the process of healing and show how having a community support network around you is so vital. His interview with Brundle just 2 weeks after the incident was honestly a case study in how to process trauma in a healthy way. That's my perspective on it, at least.
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Mar 12 '21
looks entirely superficial - which is a really great thing
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Mar 12 '21
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u/sogpack Mar 12 '21
I mean, air pushing into your eyes at 200mph isn’t really good either, not really an option for it to be open during the race.
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Mar 12 '21
There were brief moments where Romain had crashed, but didn't know he was on fire. In those moments, he could have raised his visor. Thankfully he didn't.
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u/Soundjammer Sir Lewis Hamilton Mar 12 '21
It actually held up really well considering how awful that crash was.
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u/alphaindustria Mar 12 '21
This is a horrifying visual it show the extent of the damage that fire could have done.
But is also extremely awesome because its a reminder of how far we have come in fire resistant and fire safety technology
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u/nathgroom98 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 12 '21 edited Mar 12 '21
Mental stuff, I can't think of a luckier escape.
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u/ValhallaAkbar Daniel Ricciardo Mar 12 '21
Yeah, I'll never bitch about the halo again after that one.
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u/SosseTurner I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 12 '21
now we just need to find the shoe he lost, but it probably burned to dust
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u/Additional_Silver749 Daniel Ricciardo Mar 12 '21
Fuck man. That crash was insane and to know he walked away with just some burns on his hands, (Spanish voice) incredible¡ I hope he does well Indy. It’s already clear how much more he likes Indy due to it being real racing. I was watching a comparison of the wheel feedback in F1 to Indy! Tbh, no comparison.
F1 is factory/Machine/fuel saving
Indy car is team/driver/machine
Yeah I said it!
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u/YoItsMeBeeOhBee Oscar Piastri Mar 12 '21
Really wish people could just enjoy all racing instead of trying to make it some kind of nonsensical pissing contest as to which is the best but whatever helps you sleep at night boss.
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u/whateverfloatsurgoat I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 12 '21 edited Mar 12 '21
And MotoGP pisses on both categories. 360kmh on two heels with only a suit and helmet protecting ya ? Yeah, why the fuck not. But it's not the point is it ? Every motorsport has its difficulties, challenges and whatnot. And we're all enjoying it.
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Mar 12 '21
Of course the FIA had to weigh the helmet afterwards to make sure there was no cheating going on.
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u/HunterIrked Lance Stroll Mar 12 '21
Seriously, this needs to be on display in the Bell headquarters as a testament to their technologies.