Correa ‘returning a year sooner than expected’ after 25 operations in 17 months

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In the round-up: Juan Manuel Correa says returning to racing for the first time since his horror crash at Spa in 2019 is “one of the proudest moments in my professional career”.

What they say

Juan Manuel Correa
Correa’s leg brace came off last October
Correa suffered serious injuries in a multi-car crash in the Formula 2 feature race at Spa-Francorchamps on August 31st, 2019 which also claimed the life of Anthoine Hubert while. Correa sustained a 65G impact and suffered around 20 fractures in his legs and feet, two fractured vertebrae and lung damage. He spent two weeks in an induced coma.

His right leg, the most severely damaged of the two, was supported by a metal brace for over a year. It was finally removed on October 28th 2020. Correa has had a total of 25 surgeries to his two legs, according to his representatives confirmed, who added in a statement he “will return to racing a year sooner than expected” with ART in the 2021 Formula 3 championship.

Announcing my return to the race tracks is one of the proudest moments in my professional career, as I’ve had to work very hard and sacrifice a lot for it to happen. I want to thank the motorsport community and the fans for their unconditional support.

I have no words to thank ART Grand Prix for believing in me and for being part of my story. I would also like to take a chance to honour the memory of Anthoine, as I will keep him very close to my heart in every race and try to carry his legacy as best as I can.
Juan Manuel Correa

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Is this year the wrong time to tweak Albert Park’s track layout?

They should wait and see what effect the 2022 rule changes have before potentially ruining more circuits.

I’m not especially fond of widening some of the corners as is been suggested as that just takes away a lot of the challenge in those corners. Turn one and two for instance often sees a lot of drivers make mistakes wait some run a bit wide over the weekend because the bumpy braking zone as well as the track narrowing as it does is the biggest challenge at that part of track. If you make it wider your just removing a lot of the challenge that makes that section of track interesting.

It’s the same mistake they have made elsewhere over the years with circuit changes aimed at ‘improving the show’, They often take interesting, tricky little challenging parts of the track that in some cases offer a unique challenge wait turn them into far less interesting somewhat dull corners that offer far less of a challenge which in my opinion takes away from the overall spectacle of watching the drivers drive the cars around some of these circuits.
@Stefmeister

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On this day in F1

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15 comments on “Correa ‘returning a year sooner than expected’ after 25 operations in 17 months”

  1. If Lawrence Stroll had not taken over Aston Martin, he would surely be on that short-list of potential Ferrari CEOs, considering he has clearly demonstrated his love of Ferrari — he has one of the most impressive collection of Ferraris and opened the Ferrari dealership in Montreal decades ago.

    1. Im not sure if getting a non “car” person is the best thing for Ferrari just now.

      Sure, its the position of CEO, but Ferrari is a company that needs that over-arching presence. They were successful both on and off the track under LdM because he was a driving force who certainly made his presence felt, similar to what was happening under Sergio Marchionne. If SM had lived, I’d argue that Ferrari would have been in much better shape right now.

      From the outside at least, the team appears to be rudderless. Mattia Binotto may be a very clever guy, but he isn’t necessarily cut out to be a Team Principal. Louis Camilieri hardly came across as someone who instilled a sense of confidence amongst the ranks. I mean for a period, you had 2 guys who sell smokes for living running Ferrari and its race team!

      I dont want to disrespect anyone and their background. There is a good argument that all multinational conglomerates, be it big tobacco, big oil, big finance or big auto are all similar from an operational perspective. However, I’d have to say that Ferrari is rather unique and doesn’t fit that mould. Whatever the case, the race team will always figure in the decision making process of the company itself, more so than any other manufacturer.

      Brining in somebody from fashion world may prove to be good for a time, as it may elevate the brand ever so slightly, but I feel that Ferrari need a person with good technical understanding of the company (or industry), while being equally astute from a commercial and structural perspective.

    2. I’m pretty sure that Mr. Stroll Sr. wouldn’t want to work for someone else, even Ferrari…he seems like an ownership kinda guy.

  2. Changing Melbourne’s date might have the side effect of boosting racefans rate the race scores. 1st rounds suffer from delusion. I still remember when most despised bahrain, sometimes small tweaks can change reception.
    I watched the last hour and some highlights from the 24 hours. the 01 car had 2 punctures, on michelin tyres and no other DPi had punctures. 1 might be bad luck but 2? the 01 caddy had to be doing something wrong. Perhaps setup though on that enthralling chase the 01 did cut the kerbs the oreca did not.

    1. Changing Melbourne’s date might have the side effect of boosting racefans rate the race scores

      I find the opposite. Most 1st races of the season get a higher score simply because fans are happy that racing is back. Also, 1st races result in more driver mistakes (personal observation) due to the gap between races which also increases the rate the race scores. The Bahrain 2010 was a serious anomaly to this rule simply because of that track layout which was a ~2 minute crawl through an empty desert.

      The later date may mean lower scores for the track as readers get biased by better racing observed in he previous races.

    2. @peartree Probably not, but more likely the opposite as @sumedh suggests.

      1. @jerejj No. racefans data shows the season opener gets lower ratings on average, with the rating getting inflated by round 3 often china, possibly in order to compensate for expectations.
        Check the data.
        2014 is a great example the rating for the season opener tanked as fans vecome delusional about the state of the sport.

        1. @peartree Being the opening race probably won’t affect Bahrain, though, as the track generally produces decent racing anyway. Considering this, perhaps starting the season there this time isn’t a bad thing. We shall wait and see.

  3. I don’t mind either way for Melbourne. Season-opener or one of the last ones. March and November are about the same temp-wise, if not the latter slightly warmer.
    Re the interval between this year’s and next year’s events, should it return to the opposite end: As pointed out before, viable only if at least most of the temporary structures, if not all, could stay in place throughout the gap. Otherwise, the Australian GP would have to become a fixture late-season race.

    Re COTD: I don’t mind widening corners as I prefer slighter turning angles over tighter ones anyway.

  4. Re Petecof: So that’s why he hasn’t announced where he will be going?

  5. Enjoyed the McLaren logo article. Cool to see the journey where the brand came from to where it is today. Still, I wonder how much they paid someone to change the black to orange in this year’s logo!

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      2nd February 2021, 13:45

      Same although it’s weird seeing the progression and realising that effectively, their logo still has the remnants of a Malboro chevron on it….

      1. @petebaldwin Heh I was thinking exactly the same thing as I noticed it immediately.

  6. Italian medias sensationalising every single stuff. The new Ali ? Because he’s black ? I don’t get the reference.

  7. Re: Correa, I still feel uncomfortable with the fact that he didn’t slow down while in the run off area but tried to use it to his advantage (in his “defense” all junior series drivers do the same). And yes, I know the official story is that he couldn’t, but he could for 200 m until the piece of bodywork lifted his car 15 m before the point where the accident occurred.

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