Ex-F1 driver Pascal Wehrlein undergoing ‘precautionary checks’ in hospital after huge Formula E crash

Sam Cooper
Pascal Wehrlein after a crash. Hyderabad, February 2023.

Pascal Wehrlein has been taken to hospital for precautionary checks after suffering a heavy crash during a Formula E free practice session.

While driving for Porsche, the ex-F1 man’s car snapped into a spin at the final corner of the Hyderabad track in the first practice session of the weekend.

Wehrlein crashed heavily into the wall, destroying his front wing, and although he walked away unaided he was treated by FIA medical delegate Dr Bruno Franceschini and Porsche team physio Rich Connor before being taken to hospital.

His team later took to Twitter to clarify that the 28-year-old was okay and was going to hospital for precautionary checks, but the team also decided to hold back their other three cars due to a lack of data as to what caused the incident.

The former Manor and Sauber driver is leading the standings in Formula E following the series’ first three rounds but it remains to be seen whether he will compete in this weekend’s event.

Porsche’s factory motorsport director Florian Modlinger said that they wanted to be “100% sure” there were no serious consequences for their driver.

“He looks okay, but to double check everything he will now have medical checks and then we will be sure,” Porsche’s factory motorsport director Florian Modlinger toldThe Race.

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“我们想要100%地肯定,没有风险anything, and therefore he goes to the hospital.”

Modlinger also said Wehrlein briefly spoke to the team following the crash and said that “the feeling was that the car had an issue”.

The choice to not run Antonio Felix da Costa, Jake Dennis or Andre Lotterer after the red flag was also a precautionary decision due to the lack of available data from Wehrlein’s crash .

“这是一个预防性的决定,100%,因为when you see such an accident and have the driver reporting that something felt strange, and you do not know the reason for it because of having not got the data, with such a complex car it’s only logical to tell the other cars to box and stay in the box,” Modlinger explained.

Formula E is racing in India for the first time this weekend following the opening rounds in Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

Stoffel Vandoorne and Sébastien Buemi are another two former F1 drivers competing in 2023 while McLaren are in the sport for the first time having bought Mercedes’ outfit.

Formula E Pascal Wehrlein

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