'Did not get chicken for lunch': Ex-F1 racer Grosjean makes apathatic remarks after bird strike at 370 kmph

Romain Grosjean, the ex-Formula 1 driver who survived the fireball crash in 2020, has drawn the ire of animal rights organization PETA for his insensitive comments after hitting a bird. The French driver, while test driving for Indianapolis 500 scheduled next month on May 24, hit a bird and made absurd remarks about the unfortunate incident. This is not the first time he has done so - in 2018 he collided with a groundhog on the race track while practicing for the Canadian Grand Prix and called out race officials for not doing enough to preven the incident in which his car's nose was damaged.

What did Grosjean say after hitting a bird during Indianapolis 500 testing?

Driving at a speed of nearly 230 mph or 370 km/h, Grosjean hit the bird but described the incident in a very graphic manner which did not go down well with PETA.

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"I still have blood on my race suit, there were pieces of the bird on the rollbar. I couldn’t see where I was going any more, there’s plenty on the aero screen," said the 40-year-old former F1 racer. "The helmet stinks, the seat stinks. I didn’t get any chicken for lunch; I just walked past it."

How did PETA react to Grosjean's comments?

PETA took cognizance of the incident as well as Grosjean's remarks about hitting the bird and called them 'lacking of empathy.'

"Birds have feelings, apparently more than Grosjean does, considering that he seemed more concerned with his car, helmet, and suit – all replaceable – than the smash-up of this unsuspecting bird," Mimi Bekhechi, the senior vice-president for Peta UK and Europe, said in a statement.

Grosjean no longer competes in the Formula 1 where he survived a car crash, which resulted in his car going up in flames, with only a few injuries.