Motorsport: Romain Grosjean restrained after attempting to extinguish IndyCar fire

  • 14/06/2021

If his on-track incident at the latest IndyCar event is anything to judge by, driver Romain Grosjean carries no lingering after-effects of his infamous Formula One crash last year.

At the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, Grosjean was involved in a terrifying crash that saw his car engulfed in flames, leaving him with severe burns and questioning his future in the sport.

But at Monday's (NZ time) race in Detroit, the Frenchman was clearly unfazed, when a fire broke out and smoke began billowing from his left-front brake.

He leapt from the car, retrieved a trackside fire extinguisher and sprinted back to fearlessly tackle the flames.

Marshalls soon appeared at the scene to relieve Grosjean of his fireman duties, but were forced to physically restrain him from tending to the incident himself.

Grosjean later joked about the situation on social media, donning a Detroit Fire Department t-shirt and confessing: "I care about my racing cars."

The 35-year-old was forced to retire from the race, due to mechanical failure.

Kiwi Scott Dixon finished seventh to drop to third in the overall standings, while compatriot Scott McLaughlin placed 20th.