As Oscar Piastri finished third ahead of Robert Shwartzman to secure the FIA Formula 2 Drivers’ Championship, one of the drivers who competed in the previous round was not present in Abu Dhabi. Enzo Fittipaldi, who drove for Charouz in Jeddah, is still recovering after fracturing his heel in a tremendous crash on the grid during the start of that round’s feature race.
The Formula 2 sessions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia were arguably even more haphazard than the Formula One sessions. Barrier repairs led to Sunday’s feature race being delayed 40 minutes and the F2 field driving from the support series paddock to the pit lane on the circuit in the wrong direction. The race session was then mistakenly aborted. Thankfully, the drivers eventually rolled their cars out of the pit lane for the race start.
During the race start, ART’s Théo Pourchaire stalled on the grid. Fittipaldi pulled his car sharply to the right side of the main straight to maneuver around another competitor, but he turned straight into the rear of Pourchaire’s disabled vehicle at full speed. The massive impact sent debris in all directions as Fittipaldi’s vehicle slid to a halt near the pit wall. Both drivers were reported conscious, extricated from their cars and transported to King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital.
Pourchaire was driven by ambulance, but Fittipaldi was airlifted by helicopter. Théo Pourchaire was the first to assure everyone on social media that he was okay but that Enzo Fittipaldi was injured. By this point, the Formula 2 race had been canceled after an incident between Olli Caldwell and Guilherme Samaia triggered a second red flag
Enzo Fittipaldi is the grandson of Emerson Fittipaldi, a two-time Formula One World Champion. Enzo’s brother and Haas F1 reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi eventually took to social media at almost 5 am local time the next day to inform everyone that Enzo had fractured his heel. I’m glad that Enzo Fittipaldi suffered relatively minor injuries, and I hope he recovers quickly.
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