Juan Manuel Correa announced his return to racing on Monday after recovering from the severe leg injuries he sustained in the 2019 Formula Two crash in which Anthoine Hubert died.
“Announcing my return to the race tracks is one of the proudest moments in my professional career,” Correa said in a statement, promising to honour Hubert’s memory when he began racing again for the ART Formula Three team. “My dream is still to reach F1 and this is the first step in my comeback.”
Hubert died aged 22 after he crashed and his stationary car was then hit by Correa’s during the Belgian Grand Prix support race at Spa-Francorchamps. The FIA said in a subsequent report that Correa hit Hubert’s virtually stationary car at 218kph (135mph).
The Frenchman was the first driver to die at a Formula One race weekend since the Brazilian triple champion Ayrton Senna and the Austrian Roland Ratzenberger at Imola in Italy in 1994. Correa sustained 20 fractures to his legs and feet, spending two weeks in an induced coma and wearing a leg brace for more than a year. He underwent 25 bouts of surgery to his legs but avoided amputation.
Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly has become the sixth Formula One driver to test positive for Covid-19. The AlphaTauri driver, who won the Italian Grand Prix last year, contracted the virus in Dubai and wrote on Twitter: “I wanted to let you know that I tested positive for Covid-19. I have told everyone I’ve been in contact with during these last days.
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“I’m currently self-isolating and following the protocol set by the local health authorities. I’m feeling OK, and will continue to follow my training plan from home while I remain in isolation.”
The British driver Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc both tested positive for Covid-19 last month following time in Dubai. Lewis Hamilton also contracted the illness there before the Bahrain Grand Prix in November. Sergio Pérez and Lance Stroll tested positive for the virus last season.