IndyCar: Grosjean's car hit a bird at a speed of 370 km/h

      Romain Grosjean must once again thank fate, or more precisely, the modern safety systems that saved him from some very serious trouble.

      In 2026, he returned to IndyCar, racing for Dale Coyne Racing, and today he participated in practice at the famous racetrack in Indianapolis, starting his preparation for the classic Indy 500 race.

      The maximum speeds on this oval racetrack are astonishing, sometimes exceeding 380 km/h, and today the Dallara with a Honda engine that Grosjean was driving struck a bird at 370 km/h, but the Aeroscreen system, which has been installed on IndyCar cars since 2020, saved the driver from injury.

      When the incident occurred, Grosjean had to apply emergency braking, and when he returned to the pits, a dialogue took place between the French driver, who recently celebrated his 40th birthday, and journalist Marshall Pruett, who was working on the pit lane.

      “Why are you killing little birds, Grosjean?” Pruett joked with some cynicism. “I thought you were a good guy.”

      “Why was that bird flying across the racetrack? That’s the question!” Grosjean smirked in response.

      “A fair point, I hadn’t thought of that. But the bird became the first victim, and the team mechanics will now have to wash the car, as what was left of the bird got into the air intakes. In any case, it’s good that no one else was hurt except for it. Generally, something like this could only happen to Grosjean,” added the journalist from the American publication Racer.

      Undoubtedly, everyone remembers the horrific crash Romain was involved in at the end of November 2020 at the Bahrain Grand Prix, when he miraculously escaped from the burning Haas car, and the Halo system saved his life, although he suffered burns to his hands. In IndyCar, the head protection for the driver is provided by the Aeroscreen, and its effectiveness was once again confirmed by today’s incident with the unfortunate bird.