Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean has left hospital in Bahrain but will remain in the country to continue private treatment for the burns he suffered on his hands following a horrifying crash.

The Haas driver spent three nights at the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) hospital after the accident at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.

Grosjean crashed heavily into barriers on the first lap of the race – with his Haas car splitting in half and bursting into flames.

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

Despite the force of the impact registering at 53G, Grosjean escaped with just minor burns to his hands.

Speaking in a video posted from hospital on Tuesday, Grosjean said he was “getting better and better” and just “happy to be alive”.

He posted a further update on his burns on Twitter on Wednesday, showing some of the dressing removed and saying: “Almost cried. A victory on my way to recovery.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Haas said: “Grosjean will continue private treatment for the burns suffered on the back of his hands and will remain in Bahrain for the time being.

“On behalf of Romain Grosjean and the entire Haas F1 Team we extend our thanks to all who have tended to him at the BDF Hospital.”

Following the crash, Grosjean said the controversial halo safety device saved his life after initially being sceptical about its introduction.

The driver spoke from his hospital bed just hours after surviving the most dramatic accident in recent Formula 1 history.

Lewis Hamilton, who has already clinched the world championship, won Sunday’s race to claim the 11th victory of the season.

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Brazilian driver Pietro Fittipaldi will race in place of Grosjean for this weekend’s second race in Bahrain, but the Frenchman is not ruling out a return for the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP next week to ensure the accident “isn’t the way I finish my F1 career”.

The season finale was already scheduled to be his last race for Haas and, most likely, in F1 altogether after 10 seasons with no contract for 2021.

Haas, which are ninth in the championship after another tough season, have opted for younger drivers for next year having had Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen in their cars since 2017.

Michael Schumacher’s 21-year-old son Mick is joining the F1 grid for 2021, with Haas confirming the German will partner Russian Nikita Mazepin in a new-look driver line-up.

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