Correa says 'very bad luck' caused tragic Spa accident

Formula 2 driver Juan Manuel Correa has been talking about the fatal accident that left him with serious leg injuries and claimed the life of Anthoine Hubert at Spa-Francorchamps.

Correa told Argentina's Mundo Sport radio show that he had driven over debris from an accident involving Guiliano Alesi coming through Eau Rouge, which had raised up the front of the car and left him unable to steer.

"When I went through Eau Rouge I [ran into] debris from Alesi’s car that got under the front wheels and lifted them so I went straight," he explained. "[It was] bad luck that I went straight into Hubert’s car.

“It’s all clear, I had meetings with the FIA," he continued. "It was an accident with very bad luck, a long chain of events where four or five cars were involved.

• Correa returns to social media with emotional message

"What I said about what I experienced coincides with the FIA report. But it’s over, no investigation is going to change the fact that I have a hard year ahead."

Despite the massive collision, Correa insisted that he never lost consciousness during the accident itself. However he later spent a week in an induced coma in intensive care due to the build-up of fluid in his lungs.

“It’s strange that I didn't lose consciousness in the crash," he acknowledged. "It was an impact of 70G. When I told doctors that I hadn't lost consciousness they didn't believe me!

"Before I crashed, I put my muscles hard and held on tight, that helped me. I wanted to get out of the car myself - I was conscious throughout the whole accident," he suggested.

"Being a professional athlete was a huge help, not only because of the bones and the body but also the pulmonary arrest I suffered," Correa said. "I spent two weeks in a coma. I would not have survived without being in this physical condition."

After his condition stabilised, doctors carried out a 17-hour surgery on his legs. He is now undergoing physical rehabilitation and faces further surgeries.

"Basically the doctors rebuilt my right leg," he explained. "The left one suffered much milder injuries, so a single surgery was enough.

"The process will last a year, with more surgeries to come, recovery and rehabilitation," he said. "“On December 23 I have the next surgery [on the right leg] where the bone will reach the foot.

"Then the next step will come where the new bone will strengthen so it can support weight. After that the metal supports will be removed to recover as much as possible, assess how much pain or mobility I have, and see what other operations follow."

The 20-year-old American admitted that it was likely that his right leg would ever make a full recovery. "Unfortunately it'll most likely never be 100 percent, but I will fight to make it good enough to step on an accelerator!

“At the beginning they talked about two years, but my body is doing everything faster, recovering and regenerating the bones faster than normal," he said. "Hopefully in a year we will have the full idea of how much more I can recover or if I will get there.

“It took me a few weeks to accept everything," he continued. "It was difficult to understand with pain drugs in the hospital ... It took me time to accept it, but my attitude is pragmatic: nothing will change what happened, so I have to make the best of it.

“Of course I'm sad," he added when asked what he felt about everything that had happened. "Anthoine was a good friend. But now I feel that I have to return - not only for myself, but also for him.”

And despite everything, Correa hasn't given up his o hopes of racing in Formula 1 in the future.

"An accident doesn't turn off the dream," he insisted. "It does make you think if you want to take a risk for a dream. And I decided that I want to continue doing so, because it is my dream.

“There is nothing left but to fight and continue," he added.

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