During the season-opening race of Season Nine of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in Mexico City, it was confirmed by the ABT CUPRA Formula E Team that Robin Frijns had been sent to hospital having suffered a “fracture to his left hand”, as a result of a nasty opening lap collision at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez with Norman Nato.
The weekend in Mexico City hadn’t been a great one for Frijns up to the point of his collision, with the Dutch driver having qualified nineteenth on his ABT Cupra debut. Things didn’t get much better for the experienced Formula E driver on the opening lap of the race, as his Mahindra M9Electro ploughed straight into the back of Nato at the Turn Nine/Ten chicane. The incident was a bizarre one, with Frijns’ car having increased in speed at a point which would usually see the drivers brake.
The cause of the collision will likely be announced by the team following an investigation into the crash, with multiple reliability issues having occurred during the season-opening weekend. His car did appear slightly airborne as he exited Turn Nine, suggesting that he was perhaps simply a passenger in the incident. Nevertheless, its resulted in painful consequences.
It was announced during the race by the Formula E World Feed that Frijns was going to have an operation on his wrist following the crash, with ABT Motorsport having released their own message on social media.
ABT Motorsport stated on Twitter: “We are sad to confirm that @RFrijns has suffered a fracture to his left hand and is being examined at the hospital. We are sending lots of love.”
We are sad to confirm that @RFrijns has suffered a fracture to his left hand and is being examined at the hospital. We are sending lots of love ❤️ pic.twitter.com/g9tO5D5Sri
— ABT Motorsport (@abtmotorsport) January 14, 2023