Enzo Fittipaldi returns home from hospital after Saudi F2 horror crash

The unsighted Fittipaldi hit Sauber Junior driver Theo Pourchaire, who had stalled his ART car near the front of the grid in Saudi Arabia, in a 72g impact. Both drivers were extricated by medical crews and transferred by ambulance and helicopter to King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, where Pourchaire was given the all-clear and returned to racing in Abu Dhabi this weekend.

On Saturday, Fittipaldi took to social media to inform his followers that he’d arrived back home in North Carolina in America, where he will continue his recovery and subsequent rehabilitation from his injuries.

The 20-year-old had previously posted a video showing him flexing his left ankle in his hospital bed, while his right foot remains in a protective boot to aid healing.

Enzo’s grandfather, the two-time Formula 1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi, told Motorsport.com Netherlands in an exclusive interview that he feared the worst in the moments following the shunt, as the startline collision had evoked memories of that which claimed the life of Osella F1 Riccardo Paletti in the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix.

“It reminded me of the crash of Paletti in Montreal,” said Emerson, who is an ambassador of Kelbelt.nl. “It was horrible and that’s how much [safety] is improved in motorsports.

“Enzo is doing fine and he is going to recover fast. I think this is thanks to the FIA. The monocoque is so strong, so much improvements on safety now, thank God. Because there was so much energy on the crash.

“The rules are so much better to protect the drivers.”