Romain Grosjean to remain in hospital until Tuesday, Haas announce Pietro Fittipaldi as his replacement

Brazilian reserve driver to make F1 debut in Sakhir

The car of Haas driver Romain Grosjean on fire after a crash during the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir on Sunday, November 29. AP

Stewards and medics attend to French driver Romain Grosjean at the Bahrain International Circuit. AFP

Romain Grosjean is pictured on a screen escaping the crash in Bahrain. Getty

Flames at the scene of Sunday's crash. EPA

Part of Romain Grosjean's destroyed car. EPA

Romain Grosjean is taken into an Ambulance. PA

The destroyed car of Romain Grosjean. AP

Fire marshalls try to put out the fire after Romain Grosjean's crash. Getty

Fire marshalls try to put out the fire after Romain Grosjean's crash. Getty

Racing Point's Lance Stroll crashes in Bahrain. EPA

Lance Stroll of Racing Point is helped out of his overturned car. Getty

Lance Stroll's battered Racing Point after the crash. Reuters

Lewis Hamilton after winning in Bahrain. Getty

Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the race. Reuters

Mercedes' driver Lewis Hamilton is cheered by his team after winning in Bahrain. AFP

Red Bull's Max Verstappen on his way to a second-place finish in Bahrain. EPA

Renault's Daniel Ricciardo, left, alongside Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. Getty

Race winner Lewis Hamilton, centre, with second placed Max Verstappen, right, and Alexander Albon who finished third on the podium. Getty

French driver Romain Grosjean is expected to stay in hospital until Tuesday after his fiery Bahrain Grand Prix crash, his Haas team revealed.

The 34-year-old suffered burns to the back of his hands in Sunday's shocking accident at Sakhir, with his car splitting in two and bursting into a ball of flame after penetrating a steel barrier.

Haas said in a statement that team principal Guenther Steiner had visited Grosjean at the Bahrain Defence Force hospital on Monday.

It added that treatment was going well and "it is anticipated he will be discharged from the care of the hospital on Tuesday".

The team also announced that Brazilian reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi will make his F1 debut with the Haas team at the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain next weekend as replacement for Grosjean.

Miami-born Brazilian Pietro Fittipaldi is the grandson of two-times world champion and double Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson.

Speaking from his hospital bed just hours after surviving the most dramatic accident of recent F1 history, Grosjean credited the halo device with saving his life. The French driver's car pierced through a steel barrier at 137mph following a collision with AlphaTauri's Daniil Kvyat.

Grosjean scrambled to get out of his burning wreckage for almost half a minute before leaping to safety.

The halo device – a three-pronged titanium protection system which sits above the driver's head and was introduced in 2018 – played a prominent role in the Frenchman's remarkable survival.

"I wasn't for the halo some years ago but I think it's the greatest thing that we brought to Formula One and without it I wouldn't be able to speak to you today," he said.

F1's governing body, the FIA, will launch an investigation into the accident, with question marks over how Grosjean's car penetrated a steel barrier, broke in two, and why it caught fire.

FIA race director Michael Masi warned that the findings of the investigation could take several months.

"I would hate to speculate on why the car burst into flames," said Masi.

"We will perform a complete investigation from start to finish. It will take weeks, if not months, to look at every single aspect of what happened."

Grosjean is due to leave Haas at the end of the season along with Danish team mate Kevin Magnussen.

Mick Schumacher, son of seven times world champion Michael and the current Formula Two leader, is expected to join the team next season with Russian Nikita Mazepin tipped to be the other driver.