The International Automobile Federation (Fia) has initiated investigations following the serious accident involving Sophia Flörsch at the Formula 3 World Final in Macau. Driver Guan Yu Zhou, Mick Schumacher’s teammate, claims to have seen yellow warning lights on the straight immediately before the incident. At the time of the accident, the Chinese driver was driving directly behind the 17-year-old and was able to observe the scene up close, as Spiegel-Online reported.
“I think it was an organizational mistake. Sophia was very close to Jehan Daruvala, and when he braked early, she had no time to react”, Zhou said about the accident. “She hit the right rear tire of Jehan’s car with her car and was thrown into the air – into the Lisboa curve fence”. At about 270 kilometers per hour, she broke through the fence almost unbraked.
Sophia was immediately taken to the hospital where a spinal fracture was diagnosed. “We have to thank the angels she had with her today,” said Flörsch’s team manager Frits van Amersfoort.