Haas makes fuel hatch changes following Grosjean's Bahrain F1 accident

Haas Formula 1 team boss Guenther Steiner has revealed the team has made changes to the design of its fuel hatch following Romain Grosjean’s fireball crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix last year.

Grosjean’s Haas erupted in the flames when he smashed into the barrier at Bahrain's Turn 3 on the opening lap.

The Frenchman miraculously escaped his stricken Haas with just severe burns.

As a result of the incident, Haas has made changes to the design of its fuel hatch to avoid a repeat even though there are no mandatory changes in the regulations to enforce this.

“I think the biggest one is the fuel hatch cannot be attached to the chassis anymore and we’re working on the headrest to make it smaller,” Steiner said in a media session following the launch of Haas’ 2021 challenger. “The headrest is still there but in parts, so it cannot get stuck when it comes off.

“We changed because we think it is better to do it in a different way. You always learn out of these situations. Everything was within the regulations what happened, there was nothing wrong with our car. It never happened before and what happened for some very strange incident to rip off half of the chassis at the back. If there is a better solution we should try to adapt to them all of the time. As I said, you always learn and you always need to stay up with the times.”

The World Motor Sport Council is set to publish the details tomorrow of its investigation into Grosjean's crash tomorrow.