Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton won a crash-marred Bahrain Grand Prix where Romain Grosjean somehow escaped with only minor burns after his car exploded into a fireball.

The 34-year-old French driver slid off the track at high speed on the first lap and his Haas car burst into flames after being sliced in two by a barrier. Grosjean clambered out with the fire roaring behind him and his race helmet singed. He was conscious and stable and then taken by helicopter to a military hospital.
�I think it is a reminder to us and hopefully to the people that are watching that this is a dangerous sport," Hamilton said.

Grosjean's relieved team said the driver had only light burns to his hands and ankles.

The crash happened with seven-time F1 champion Hamilton leading from Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Racing Point's Sergio Perez.

Hamilton, who secured his title at the Turkish GP on Nov. 15, was subdued and did not celebrate his win after climbing out of his car, other than a brief fist-pump with the Red Bull drivers.

�It was such a shocking image to see ... horrifying. It could have been so much worse,� Hamilton said. �I respect the dangers that are in this sport."