Injured racing driver Flörsch: "I will come back"

Sophia Flörsch has commented on her comeback plans on Facebook. The 17-year-old German racer, who had a serious accident on Sunday, wrote: "I'll come back". The eleven-hour operation on her spine has coped with her "well", now she hopes that it will "only get better from now on".

The Formula 3 driver Flörsch had spectacular crash on Sunday on the narrow street circuit of Macao at the World Final Formula 3 and had broken the seventh cervical vertebra in the accident. Now she thanked her for the wishes of recovery. "That really motivates me and gives me courage."

Flörsch had lost control of their race car from the Dutch Van Amersfoort team on the straight ahead of the Lisboa curve after colliding with a competitor. Her car lifted at more than 250 kilometers per hour and crashed unchecked through the safety fences several meters high against crash barriers.

DPA

Accident of Flörsch

Bone chips "dangerously close to the spinal cord"

Four others, including Japanese driver Sho Tsuboi, who collided with Flörsch, suffered injuries. Think of all those involved in the accident, I hope everyone is well, "Flörsch wrote.

Flörsch is scheduled to spend one to two weeks in the hospital following surgery, her doctors told the Conde de S. Januari General Hospital in Macao. "I hope it only gets better from now on, I have to stay a few more days in Macao until I'm ready for transport," wrote Flörsch.

Earlier, clinic director Lei Wai Seng said that Flörsch could move her arms and legs freely and her vital signs were stable. The doctors removed bony substance from her hip during surgery and inserted it into the vertebra to support it. Flörsch's team reported that a bone splinter had sat "dangerously close to her spinal cord" after the accident. First signs now give "a positive outlook on their recovery".

So far it is not clear in which race series Flörsch will drive next year. Formula 3 changes into the framework program of Formula 1 in 2019 and receives more attention. The season probably starts in May, an exact race calendar is not fixed yet.