Robin Frijns broke his wrist in a crash with Norman Nato on the first lap of the Formula E season opener in Mexico City E-Prix. He is likely to miss the upcoming Diriyah E-Prix.
Coming from Abt, Robin Frijns ran into Norman Nato from behind at the turn 10 chicane and eventually stopped at the wall, bringing out the race’s first safety car.
Robin Frijns was taken to hospital, where it was revealed that he had broken his left wrist in the impact.
“Robin broke his left wrist and will need surgery here in Mexico,” Abt said in a statement.
That leaves Robin Frijns likely to remain on the bench for the doubleheader in Saudi Arabia, and Abt will have to find a replacement for the Diriyah E-Prix within two weeks.
DTM driver Kelvin van der Linde is understood to be the front-runner to drive Robin Frijns if he races, but powertrain partner Mahindra has been appointed as a reserve driver for F2 racing. Winner Ewan Darbala is on the list.
Team principal Thomas Biermeier believes Abt are “six to eight weeks behind” their competitors on the grid, and Robin Frijns’ injury will set the Abt team further back.
Robin Frijns was investigated for his responsibility for the collision with Norman Nato during the race, but the stewards deemed it a racing incident and opted not to take further action.
Team-mate Nico Muller, who had been out of Formula E for a year ahead of the start of Gen3 rules, finished 14th. .
Nico Müller finished 18th on the grid and Robin Friens 19th on the grid, finishing close to the bottom of the timesheets in the qualifying group.It was a performance following two difficult practice sessions where he finished 20th and 21st respectively in both sessions.
Robin Frijns has joined Abt after four years at Envision. Nico Müller was out teammate for three years in the DTM and was driving his RS5 for the team’s Audi under the old Class 1 regulations.
Category: F1 / Formula E / Robin Frijns
