Haas team principal Guenther Steiner goes over to the medical car driver Alan van der Merwe, bumps fists and says: "Thank you so much guys. Honestly. I was surprised how you reacted."

"It is what we are here for," Van der Merwe said in response.

Sam: think about how lucky Daniil Kvyat is too. if that contact had broken his front suspension he’d have been in that barrier and fireball with Grosjean. absolute miracle.

Paris of Troy: Never seen anything like that before. So pleased that To see Grosjean miraculously walk away. Truly terrifying. Well done FIA.

Julie Newman: Is there any chance that the race will now be cancelled because of safety questions.

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner, speaking with BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, reiterated that his driver, Romain Grosjean, was heading to hospital for further checks but was conscious and did not seem to be seriously injured.

He added: "When you see something like this the only thing you think is 'I hope we get lucky'. You don't think how it happened or whatever.

"I would like to thank all the marshals. They did a fantastic job to get him away as quick as possible from the fire. It was amazing what they did."

I think we can all echo Dario Franchitti's comments here.

Incredible, quick and brave response from medical staff and marshals to get Romain Grosjean to safety as quickly as possible.

Cactus Jack: I think that's the worst accident I've seen for a long time.

Selution: I have no idea how Grosjean survived that, thankfully he did. I’ve never seen that type of explosion & a car split in half in my life and credit to the safety regulations and the driver training to pull himself out.

Hirsty Official: Most shocking incident I have seen, this will shake up the rest of the grid, may not restart.

Jack Nicholls
BBC Radio 5 Live F1 commentator

It seems to me plausible that the race does not restart. They have got to put another barrier in. The barrier has now been completely demolished. The new barrier that goes in is going to replace a barrier that has not worked - that has done a very dangerous job. It is testament to the strength of the car that Grosjean is OK.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

We know motorsport and Formula One is dangerous. We get timely reminders about this and it really brings a horrible realisation back to the motorsport community that it is a dangerous sport that all the drivers sign up to do and they are aware of it. But when you see things like this and you see one of your colleagues walking away from what could have been a life-threatening incident it's very difficult now for the drivers to get back in and have a normal race.

Jack Nicholls
BBC Radio 5 Live F1 commentator

Romain Grosjean went off the circuit and hit the metal barrier so hard and at such an angle that the car went through the metal barrier while splitting in half so that the back half of Grosjean's car went away and the front half, with Grosjean in it, got lodged in the metal barrier after hitting it at about 140mph. The car subsequently burst into flames and Grosjean was really miraculously able to jump out and is relatively unscathed except burns to his ankles and hands.

The pictures of the moment of the crash are just something else and every time I see them I'm amazed no-one was badly hurt from it.

Romain Grosjean himself was still in the burning car for a few seconds, possibly as much as 10, before he finally managed to get out. Then there was a tyre that bounced across to the other side of the circuit.

Grosjean is on his way to the hospital now with a suspected broken rib.

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner speaking to Sky Sports: "[Grosjean] is doing OK. He has light burns on hands and ankles. obviously he is shaking and going through all the checks but he's fine.

"He's seems to be OK and the rescue was very quick. The marshals and FIA did a great job. It was very scary.

"We were lucky by being unlucky. He got a way with it I think.

"It looked like he went across the track with the front wheel and went full speed in the barrier. But I've only seen what you guys have seen."

Image source, Reuters

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

The car has just gone straight through the barrier with no absorption of the energy apart from just coming to a dead stop. You have got to ask questions about the barrier. Is it too weak? What happens if a car hits the barrier at a higher speed than that? How has this happened?

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Haas say Grosjean "has some minor burns on his hands and ankles but otherwise he is ok. He is with the doctors just now"

Nick Hughes: Blimey, that is miraculous. Thank goodness Romain Grosjean is ok. That is everything F1 and the FIA has put in place to save his life, halo, carbon structure. Horrifying accident. Modern F1 safety is incredible, Dr Sid Watkins' legacy.

Harry Fox: Halo saved his life.

quixoticgeek: If any of the drivers chose not to restart this race. No one would think anything less because of it. That is a horrible thing to witness.

Race control say there will be a delay of a minimum of 45 minutes before the race is restarted as they repair the barrier.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

You do tests at the start of every season to see how quickly you can jump out of the car for this very reason. You have to get out and put the steering wheel on in less than 10 seconds. He wouldn't have been bothering about the steering wheel, I can assure you of that. He's done this after having a huge impact. He's lucky his legs were OK because he has managed to clamber out as quickly as possible in the midst of a fireball.

Jennie Gow
BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter

All of the drivers have reacted in slightly different ways. Alexander Albon went straight down to Haas. He was having a chat with the guys on the pitwall to try to find out exactly what was happening. Sebastian Vettel is still in his car. Lewis Hamilton just standing down by the pit exit, his eyes closed and his helmet off, just having a moment of reflection. It will be unsettling for the drivers. They still have a race ahead of them.

Image source, Reuters