French Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean looks to have escaped serious injuries after his Haas car was ripped in half and engulfed in flames following a crash at Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix. 

The accident occurred on the first lap of the race, as Grosjean's Haas car swerved across the front of Russian driver Daniil Kvyat before driving straight through the protective safety barriers. 

As soon as the accident happened, race directors ordered the race to be stopped so that Grosjean could be rescued and receive urgent medical attention.

Shortly afterwards, video footage showed the French driver begin to emerge from the accident, jumping over the barriers before being taken to be assessed. 

Alan van der Merwe, F1 medical driver and one of those first on the scene, said "it was a big surprise. I have never seen so much fire. We took a moment or so to process. Romain stated getting out, which was amazing after an accident like that."

The full extent of Grosjean's injuries is currently unclear, but Haas team manager Gunter Steiner said: "The latest is that he is OK, I don't want to make any medical diagnosis. He is shaken."

The remaining parts of the car have been lifted from the accident site, ahead of the race restarting.