The teenage F3 driverh Sophia Floersch get undergo surgery on her spine on Monday morning after fracturing her spine in a high-speed crash at the Macau Grand Prix 2018. The 17-year-old driver lost control of her Van Amersfoort car at a speed of just under 280km/h on Sunday.
Her car hit fellow Japanese driver Sho Tsuboi before being catapulted through the air and through fencing into an area occupied by marshals and photographers.
One marshal, Chan Cha In, suffered a laceration of the face, abrasion of his upper abdomen wall and a fractured jaw.
Photographer Chan Weng Wang was diagnosed with a liver laceration and is being observed in hospital, and fellow photographer Hiroyuki Minami suffered concussion and will also be observed.
Floersch’s team boss Frits van Amersfoort told Autosport that she had been accompanied to hospital by her father Alexander.
“We have to thank the angels she had with her today, and for the fantastic strength of the Dallara car,” said van Amersfoort.
Floersch, who will be 18 on December 1, is competing in her first season in the junior F3 series. She was in 15th place when the accident happened on lap four of the street circuit.
She is a German and highly regarded talent, having driven in Formula 4 before making the step up to the F3 championship, which is currently led by Michael Schumacher’s son Mick.
The race was immediately red flagged before restarting more than an hour later.
The accident is being investigates by motorsport federation FIA.