Adam Fitzgerald, who was injured in the crash that claimed the life of Dilano van ‘t Hoff last month at Spa-Francorchamps, is now back on his feet.
The 19-year-old broke his sternum, an elbow and four vertebrae when his car struck that of van ‘t Hoff following a restart in a rain-hit Formula Regional European Championship race. Fitzgerald also suffered bruising to his other elbow, and was hospitalised for several weeks.Just two months previously Fitzgerald suffered a back-breaking incident in another FREC race at Imola. He suffered three broken vertebrae when his car launched by a sausage kerb. He only missed the Imola race due to that injury, but his Spa crash has put him out for the rest of the season.
Fitzgerald had surgery on his broken elbow two weeks after that crash, and left hospital shortly after in a back brace that he has to wear for “the next few months”. In the last week he has posted two updates on social media about his recovery.
“Working hard on rehab, I’m still missing a lot of movement in the elbow but getting better each day,” he said last week. “It looks like the elbow will take the longest to heal so still not sure when I’ll be fit to drive again.”
Yesterday he added: “Back to light training now after eight weeks of not being able to do any exercise, time to get back in shape. After breaking my sternum, my elbow and four vertebrae, it’s really surprising that I’m able to move around freely only two months later.
“It’s amazing how fast the body recovers, for the first two weeks, I couldn’t even turn on my side when lying in bed and now I’m walking.”
The Race Performance Motorsport team that Fitzgerald drove for has not signed a replacement driver in the two rounds since Spa.
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The Dolphins
30th August 2023, 14:41
Good to see this young man recovering. This may yet be career ending for him but I hope he can return to the car and continue doing what he loves.
The Van ‘t Hoff family and Fitzgerald really ought to sue the FIA for allowing the race to proceed in such conditions, that was utter negligence. Like Max said F1 wouldn’t have raced in those conditions (and they didn’t in 2021)
Jere (@jerejj)
30th August 2023, 16:43
You couldn’t be more spot-on, especially in the latter paragraph.
Asd
30th August 2023, 17:31
What a terrible idea! I understand where you’re coming from, but such a precedence (succesfully suing FIA for a wet accident) would ultimately kill wet races in all of FIA governed forms of motorsport.
With the climate change moving towards more rain in spring and summer days, that could be catastrophic for motorsports.
The Dolphins
30th August 2023, 18:29
@Asd I don’t believe so, in a lot of lawsuits the word “reason” is thrown around. In this case it was reasonable to believe that under those conditions, in a grid of that size, in a category of that level of experience, the chance of an accident is reasonably high.
Jules Bianchi’s family took F1 and the FIA to court for what they (and myself) deem to be an avoidable death.
Also, we don’t have many “wet races” (as defined by using the extreme wet tyre) to the point that it’s become a meme online that the extreme wet compound even exist.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
31st August 2023, 17:30
Only if the FIA does not find an alternative solution for adequate safety in such situations. Let’s not assume it is empty-handed in advance of the time it is legally called upon to have a solution ready (after all, the reason the Bianchi case didn’t go to court in the end was because alternative methods for the FIA to prevent future occurrences were agreed in settlement).
Climate change requires imaginative solutions from everybody; motor sport is not exempt.