Drivers airlifted to hospital after 'horrible' incident in Formula 2

The motorsport world was rocked by frightening scenes in Saudi Arabia on Sunday when Enzo Fittipaldi and Theo Pourchaire were airlifted to hospital after a serious crash at the start of the Formula 2 race in Jeddah.

The grandson of former Formula One world champion Emerson Fittipaldi, Enzo crashed into Pourchaire from behind when his ART car stalled on the grid.

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FIA said in a statement that Pourchaire and Fittipaldi were conscious and extricated from their cars by medical crews.

"The drivers were immediately attended to by emergency and medical crews," Formula 2 said in a statement.

"The drivers were conscious and extricated by the attending medical crews.

"Both have been transferred by ambulance and helicopter to King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah."

Initial reports on the drivers' condition were reassuring, with Fittipaldi said to have broken an ankle.

"Theo is fine, he has no fracture," Alfa Romeo F1 boss Frederic Vasseur told an AFP journalist at the starting grid for the Formula One Grand Prix.

The Formula 2 race was quickly red-flagged, with the rest of the field ordered to return to the pits.

The race restarted about 40 minutes later before another accident and red flag brought it to a premature end.

Fittipaldi stepped up to Formula 2 for the second part of the 2021 season, making his debut for Czech team Charouz at Monza.

He finished seventh on Saturday in Race 2 in Jeddah, scoring his first points in F2.

His grandfather Emerson won two F1 world championships with Lotus in 1972 when he was just 25, the youngest champion up to then, and two years later with McLaren.

Enzo's older brother Pietro, 25, made his Formula One debut with Haas at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, replacing the injured Romain Grosjean.

Oscar Piastri on verge of winning Formula 2 title

Australian star Oscar Piastri is on the verge of lifting the Formula 2 title after winning the dramatically shortened, crash-hit race in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Piastri went on to claim victory when the feature race was restarted and then called off early.

The 20-year-old was ultimately declared winner on countback and was awarded half-points because the race had only been going for five laps.

It meant his chance of winning the title on Sunday had gone but he's now in a practically unassailable position as he goes into the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi next weekend.

Piastri, who was recently announced as the Alpine F1 team's reserve driver for 2022, is on the verge of sealing an astonishing third straight junior championship following his F3 title last year and the Formula Renault Eurocup from 2019.

"We won the race, if you want to call it a race," said Piastri afterwards.

"The points are nice and I am glad that everybody is going to be okay, from the crash. I hope Theo and Enzo are okay and everyone makes a speedy recovery.

"That is the most important thing today and we will see you next week for the final round."

Piastri, who had started on pole for the fourth successive time, has now increased his championship lead to 51.5 points as he's accumulated 213.5 points compared to his Russian teammate Robert Shwartzman's 162, with China's Guanyu Zhou on 149.

Piastri's Prema Racing outfit have also sealed the team title.

with agencies

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