Formula 1: Sakhir Grand Prix marks a first in Haas history
By Asher Fair
The Sakhir Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit is set to be the first race in Haas Formula 1 history without Romain Grosjean behind the wheel.
Romain Grosjean’s nasty crash in this past Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix Formula 1 race at Bahrain International Circuit left him with burns to the backs of his hands and sent him to Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) Hospital in Riffa for a couple of nights, but it could have been a whole lot worse.
Unfortunately, it did sideline him for this weekend’s race, the Sakhir Grand Prix, at the outer layout of the same venue, as Pietro Fittipaldi is set to fill in for him alongside Kevin Magnussen.
Haas entered Formula 1 in 2016, and they did so with Grosjean as one of their two drivers, the other being Esteban Gutierrez.
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Magnussen replaced Gutierrez after the 2017, and the pairing of Grosjean and Magnussen is tied for the longest tenured pairing in the sport with that of Mercedes (Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas).
As a result, this weekend marks the first race weekend in Haas history without Grosjean behind the wheel. Of course, Grosjean did miss two starts in the 2016 season, but he competed throughout the weekend leading up to those races, unlike this weekend.
In the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit, he did not get to compete as a result of braking issues after qualifying in 15th place. In the Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, he also did not get to compete as a result of crashing on his way to the grid from the pit lane. He had qualified in seventh.
But this weekend is a sign of things to come, as the team have completely overhauled their driver lineup for next year. Neither Grosjean nor Magnussen will be back for another year with the team, as rookies Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin have recently been confirmed as their replacements.
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This Sunday’s 87-lap race around the 11-turn, 2.202-mile (3.544-kilometer) road course in Sakhir, Bahrain was slated to have been Grosjean’s penultimate race with the sport’s lone American team, not his final race, but he will also not compete in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit, so his career with Haas has officially come to a close.