The grandson of a former Formula One world champion has been airlifted to hospital following a horror crash in Formula Two, with his rival who collided with him issuing a message asking fans to send him messages of support.
French driver Theo Pourchaire, 18, was left stranded in a terrifying position in the middle of the track when his ART car stalled on the grid.
Enzo Fittipaldi, who is part of racing royalty as the grandson of Emerson Fittipaldi, a Brazilian two-time F1 champion during the 1970s, proved to be the unfortunate driver unable to keep out of the way of Pourchaire's marooned motor.
“The drivers were immediately attended to by emergency and medical crews,” Formula 2 said in a statement after the incident at the start of the race in Jeddah that caused the event to be red-flagged.
Horrible crash in #F2 with Fittipaldi running into the back of Théo Pourchaire pic.twitter.com/1DakFfvVso
— Peter (@PPDeluXe1) December 5, 2021
Bloody hell. It was really nasty. Bits of car landing in the pit lane too. Hope Fittipaldi and Porchea are okay. ???? #F2 https://t.co/fVk3t6elsb pic.twitter.com/JgErAsAOVx
— Marty (@MartyMcLxmxn) December 5, 2021
“The drivers were conscious and extricated by the attending medical crews. Both have been transferred by ambulance and helicopter to King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah."
The smash reportedly took place at a significantly higher velocity than the shuddering collision between Formula One arch-rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix in July.
Alfa Romeo F1 boss Frederic Vasseur is said to have told an AFP journalist that Pourchaire "is fine" and has "no fracture".
???? Imágenes desde la grada, del accidente de #F2 entre Pourchaire y Fittipaldi que nos pone los pelos de punta.
— Santi López ???? #F1 (@F1Santi) December 5, 2021
Espero que todos estén bien… ????
pic.twitter.com/ryBLnA39my
Big crash in Formula 2. Enzo Fittipaldi hits Theo Pourchaire pic.twitter.com/zN8CfSC7X8
— Barbara Black Sheep (@bb_black_sheep) December 5, 2021
"For the moment, I don’t know if it’s already the end of the season for me," French prodigy Pourchaire said on social media around five hours after the accident.
"But the most important is not that: that was a really big one and Enzo is injured.
"I wish him the best recovery possible. You guys can send him kind messages. He needs that."
Hey everyone,
— Théo Pourchaire (@TPourchaire) December 5, 2021
Just wanted to tell you that I’m globally fine ! For the moment I don’t know if it’s already the end of the season for me. But the most important is not that, that was a really big one and Enzo is injured.
I wish him the best recovery possible !
You guys can send him kind messages. He needs that !
— Théo Pourchaire (@TPourchaire) December 5, 2021
Fittipaldi's team, Charouz Racing System, surprisingly appeared to suggest that the 20-year-old could be back in the driving seat next weekend.
"One hectic weekend in Jeddah is finished," they said, describing the crash as "not the outcome of the feature race anyone could have imagined." "Now let's wish [the pair] to be healthy and strong for next weekend.
"We all [had] a pretty big fear for Enzo after a nasty collision during the start of the race.
@enzofitti Today was terrifying, wanting to see you do what you like to do the most soon: racing!!! ❤️
— Jesús Barberá⚡ (@JBGarridoF1) December 5, 2021
And relieved for you Theo being fine, hopefully we'll see you in Abu Dhabi man! ❤️
Glad that both of you are okay! Praying for Enzo! He’s strong and going to get out of this in no time!!
— ????1️⃣6️⃣ (@bianiisu) December 5, 2021
Both Pourchaire and Fittipaldi were immediately attended to by emergency and medical crews
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) December 5, 2021
The drivers were conscious and extricated by the attending medical crews and have been transferred to King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah#SaudiArabianGP ???????? #F2
"The feature race in Jeddah was marked by many crashes including another collision for [Fittipaldi] – a truly unfortunate weekend."
In his debut Formula Two season, Fittipaldi scored his first points on Saturday in Race 2.
Pourchaire was just 16 when he first featured in Formula Three, becoming the competition's youngest double race-winner.
