Robin Frijns left the Mexico City E-Prix with a broken wrist and could miss the doubleheader in Diriyah. Who might replace him?
During the first race of the season, Frijns had to retire after just ten turns, due to a contact with Norman Nato that was deemed by the FIA as a racing incident. It was the first DNF for the Dutch driver since the 2020 Berlin E-Prix, putting an end to his record streak that lasted for two full seasons.
Unluckily, Frijns broke his left wrist during the impact and will probably miss the Diriyah E-Prix. It will be the first doubleheader of Season 9 and begins in less than two weeks. After the race, ABT announced that the driver had undergone successful surgery in Mexico City.
Here is a quick update on Robin: He suffered from fractions on the hand and on the wrist. The surgery went well and the FIA doctor came to see him today. Robin is in good spirits and he hopes to fly back home soon. Big thanks to the medical team on site and in the hospital 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/dILz39U5ib
— ABT Motorsport (@abtmotorsport) January 15, 2023
However, is unrealistic to think that Frijns will be able to race in two weeks. This leaves ABT needing to confirm a replacement. The official reserve driver for the team is Kelvin van der Linde, a DTM driver. However, Mahindra, the ABT powertrain partner, has F2’s Jean Daruvala as another option to replace Frijns.
The recovery time for Frijns injury is still unknown and ABT has to find a driver capable to bring points to the team. They left Mexico City without even a point, with Muller finishing in 14th place. The start of the season was troubled for the team, as team principal Thomas Biermeier stated:
“From a sporting point of view, it was the expected difficult start to the season in a championship that we know well, but which is starting under completely different circumstances this year. We realize that we have to catch up after a short time of preparation”.
In motorsport, things can change fast and there is still time for ABT to reach their rivals on the grid, but Diriyah E-Prix will be an important weekend. Can they find an acceptable replacement for Frijns and bring home the first points of the season? There will be another two-week break before the series visits Hyderabad on February 11th. ABT will be hoping that Frijns is back for the fourth round of the season.
