Macau Grand Prix | Team boss says Flörsch’s crash not Macau related

Sophia Flörsch was visited yesterday (Wednesday) by Secretary Alexis Tam in the public hospital; her father is seen on the background

The team boss of teenage driver Sophia Flörsch, who suffered a serious crash during Sunday’s Macau Grand Prix F3 race, said that the accident could have happened on any other track.

“I don’t think the accident was Macau-related. If we go back to Macau next year, I’ll be a bit afraid but this accident could have happened elsewhere. We also race in Pau and F1 also races on all kinds of street circuits. Macau is a special track, everyone knows that,” Frits van Amersfoort told Autosport. “The contradiction is that everyone knows the dangers, but most drivers also say that Macau is the most beautiful track in the world. That indicates how strange it sometimes is.”

Running for the Netherlands- based Van Amersfoort Racing, Flörsch suffered spinal fractures after her mono-seat collided at high speed with Japanese driver Sho Tsuboi’s car, going through a catch fence at the Lisboa bend. The car then hit a photographers’ bunker on the perimeter and dropped to the ground, with race marshals immediately on the scene.

The driver underwent a seven- hour long surgery at the Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre on Monday. The operation lasted all afternoon and a press conference was held during the evening, with doctors involved in the proceedings revealing that Flörsch had shown signs of improvement in the last stages of the surgery. The doctors who performed the surgery are hopeful that she will be able to recover from her injury. Yesterday, Flörsch was visited by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam [see front page picture].

Interviewed by Autosport, Frits van Amersfoort recalled the anguish felt at the paddock during the half-hour that followed the accident. “At first, you’re scared because there were rumors that her brakes didn’t work. Then you start to doubt yourself. In the end we gradually got to know what had happened. Sometimes you can despise social media, but now there was a lot that we otherwise would never have known,” van Amersfoort said.

“The FIA seized the onboard images of Sophia’s camera and all the drivers around her so we don’t have to expect much help from them. Today we really got to know what exactly happened. And then I can only draw one conclusion: Dear God, everyone had an angel on their shoulders, because it could have ended much worse.”

Sophia Flörsch’s father, Alex, recalled how the 30 or 40 minutes after the crash were the hardest minutes of his life. “Trying to find her was very difficult. I did not know what was going on. All sorts of concerns come into your mind at a time like that,” he told SportsMail.

After the surgery, Alex Flörsch showed optimism regarding the teenage driver’s recovery. “I am sitting at her side now and she’s just happy the surgery is done. Things will get better every day. But for now she has some pain – the drugs are wearing off,” he said. “We have not yet spoken about whether she will race again – it is too soon for that – but from my point of view, there is nothing I would do to stop her.”