Driver's miracle escape as car disintegrates

2 years ago 355

UPDATE: The grandson of two-time Formula 1 satellite champion Emerson Fittipaldi has miraculously escaped superior wounded aft a fearfulness mishap astatine the commencement of the F2 diagnostic contention successful Saudi Arabia, that saw the beforehand of his car ripped apart.

Enzo Fittipaldi, who started from 18th connected the grid, appeared not to announcement Theo Pourchaire, successful third, had stalled connected the grid.

Fittipaldi, who started connected the left, crossed to the close manus broadside of the way and ran into the backmost of the UNI-Virtuosi car astatine unabated speed, sending debris everywhere, including implicit the information obstruction and into the pit lane.

The contention was reddish flagged portion aesculapian unit rushed to the scene, with some Pourchaire and Fittipaldi transferred to hospital.

"Both Pourchaire and Fittipaldi were instantly attended to by exigency and aesculapian crews," organisers said successful a statement.

"The drivers were conscious and extricated by the attending aesculapian crews and person been transferred to King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah."

There was superior interest for Fittipaldi, fixed the extended harm to the beforehand of the car, but his member has present tweeted an update connected his condition.

"Enzo is awake/alert and resting astatine the hospital," Pietro Fittipaldi wrote.

"He has a fracture successful his close bottommost but thankfully things are overmuch amended than what we each expected.

"Thank you to the FIA, the squad and each the aesculapian unit present successful Saudi Arabia."

Pourchaire, 1 of the astir breathtaking talents successful the sport, is wide expected to marque the measurement up to Formula 1 successful 2023. He has since tweeted that helium is OK, but isn't definite if he'll instrumentality portion successful the season-ending circular astatine Abu Dhabi adjacent weekend.

"For the infinitesimal I don't cognize if it's already the extremity of the play for me," helium wrote.

"But the astir important is not that, that was a truly large 1 and Enzo is injured.

"I privation him the champion betterment possible."

Australia's Oscar Piastri won a shortened contention with lone fractional points awarded, having started from rod position. The contention was red-flagged aft yet different incident, this clip involving Olli Caldwell and Guilherme Samaia, with some drivers uninjured.

F1 rubric rivals collide successful melodramatic Saudi Arabian GP

Piastri present has a 51.5 constituent pb implicit his teammate Robert Shwartzman with conscionable 1 circular remaining successful the championship. While it's mathematically imaginable for Piastri to beryllium caught, it's highly unlikely.

The 20-year-old from Melbourne is aiming to go the archetypal Australian to triumph the sport's highest inferior category, and has already signed a woody arsenic Alpine's F1 reserve operator for 2022.

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