Correa on rehabilitation: 'I was often depressed'

Juan Manuel Correa will return to the Formula 2 grid in 2023. The Ecuadorian-American driver was involved in the violent crash at Spa-Francorchamps in 2019 that killed Anthoine Hubert. Now he is opening up about his comeback at The Race.

Correa has recovered enough to return to F2, courtesy of Dutch racing team Van Amersfoort Racing. Not all is well yet: “Eventually, we will have to find a solution for my right ankle because I have terrible arthrosis, I just have no cartilage in there and obviously, it’s going to get worse as I get older, so we’ll have to figure it out. But that should last me for another few seasons." There is no reason to panic yet.

'I was often depressed'

The 23-year-old thinks he can expect a normal season, as long as he keeps training and rehabilitating. Returning was not easy, by the way - to lose a friend in such an accident and be severely injured yourself does make one wonder if racing is still worth it. Added to that, rehabilitation was and is by no means an easy process. “God, many days I was so depressed, it was so hard.” Correa said.

Nevertheless, the young driver is sticking to his work ethic and a positive attitude: “I’ve worked all my life for this, I dreamed for this. I think I’m very good and I can actually make it and become a professional driver. And that’s something very few people can say, and have the opportunity to do. And I was like, ‘no, I’m not going to throw that away’.”

How the upcoming F2 season will turn out for Correa obviously remains to be seen, but with such a positive attitude and a lot of hard work, he could come a long way.