Formula 2: India's Kush Maini survives terrifying collision, faces post-race penalty

Kush Maini (Pic: @kmainiofficial/X)

Indian driver Kush Maini on Sunday survived a horrifying crash after he stalled at the start of the feature race in Formula 2, a support race to Formula 1.

The scary incident occurred on the opening lap of the Formula 2 race which preceded the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old Indian had nowhere to go at the race start as his car's engine stopped working suddenly. That left fellow drivers Josep Maria Marti and Oliver Goethe unsighted, leading to a massive collision.

The rear of Maini's car was totally destroyed by the impact of the crash and fortunately, he came out of it unscathed.

Maini's father Gautam confirmed to PTI that his son is doing fine.

"He is doing okay. As part of the standard protocol all medical check ups were conducted on Kush and all reports are normal," he said.

Maini, representing Invicta Racing in his second Formula 2 season, is 11th in the standings. The race was won by Richard Verschoor of Trident.

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Following the investigation of the incident, the stewards handed the Indian a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision. "After the race, the Stewards heard from the Team Representative and examined available video evidence before determining that the driver of Car 9 had failed to engage the Start Set Up Procedure for the start of the race, an error that led to the car stalling on the grid causing the subsequent collision.

"The Stewards determined that because of this, Maini was wholly responsible for the collision and, as a result, elected to hand him a 10-second time penalty. With Maini not finishing the Feature Race, his time penalty has been converted into a five-place grid penalty," read a Formula 2 statement.

Maini will serve the penalty in the next race.

Safety has improved drastically in motorsport over the past two decades but the sport remains dangerous. Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert had succumbed to his injuries following an accident at the iconic Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium in 2019. The Frenchman was only 22.

Jules Bianchi, who was only 25, had died following a collision with a recovery vehicle during the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix in 2014. The FIA had introduced Halo, a head protecting device, on all Formula 1 cars post the fatal accident.

(With agency inputs)