Juan Manuel Correa Returns To The Paddock A Year After The Fatal Incidents At Spa-Francorchamps

Juan Manuel Correa (Instagram @juanmanuelcorrea_)

JAKARTA - Juan Manuel Correa will be present at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit this weekend. This marked his return to the paddock one year after an accident that left him seriously injured, and resulted in the death of Anthoine Hubert.

The accident occurred on the second lap of last year's Formula 2 Feature Race in Belgium in which Hubert died and Correa sustained life-threatening injuries.

Correa spent time in a coma after suffering from respiratory failure and ended up having lengthy surgery on a severe leg injury. He chose not to be amputated.

Correa has since undergone rehabilitation in his hometown of Miami and regularly documents this process through his social media accounts.

He, recently returned to the 321 Perform training facility in the Pyrenees and this weekend has received an invitation from Formula 2 organizers to attend Spa-Francorchamps.

"It's been a year since the accident happened," Correa said in a Formula 2 live broadcast on Instagram on Thursday.

“I feel like there is a way for me to close a chapter, but more importantly to pay tribute to the Anthoine, I haven't been able to do well from Miami.

"I am very happy to be here, good to see everyone in the paddock again, but it will also be a very sad and emotional weekend for me."

Correa stressed that he wants to return to Formula 2 for the 2021 season after starting talks with the team.

"(The recovery) is going pretty well, I'm recovering pretty fast," he said.

"I'm actually targeting a comeback next year, so (it's) earlier than we thought at first, but it looks good."

Correa continued, he still has to undergo a number of operations but all the metal around his leg must be lost at the end of this year. This means that he will likely be able to race in early December.

Meanwhile, a number of tributes will be held in memory of Hubert this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, including a minute's silence before Formula 1 and Formula 2 races.