After sustaining a hand fracture during the Mexico City E-Prix last month, ABT CUPRA’s Robin Frijns has announced he’ll also sit out next weekend’s inaugural Cape Town E-Prix.
“Unfortunately, I am forced to sit out another race,” the driver communicated on social media. “Really gutted to miss out on Cape Town. I was working very hard to come back as soon as I could.”
Since the incident, which occurred during the first lap of the season-opener in Mexico, Frijns has been sharing updates of his recovery with fans online. Posting a photo from his hospital bed after a five-hour operation, the two-time race winner revealed he’d suffered a fractured hand and wrist.
Frijns had set himself the goal of racing at the upcoming round in South Africa. However, Kelvin van der Linde will continue as the reserve driver for the ABT CUPRA team. This news also means van der Linde will be able to compete in his home race.
After lots of rehabilitation and even getting some practice in the simulator, Frijns had hoped all would be fine. Yet, it appears the bone has not completely healed.
“We did the preparation in the simulator, which all went pretty smoothly,” Frijns continued. “But after a few more checks on my hand, it seems that my bone has not fully healed just yet.
“It is a hard one to make, knowing the effort I put into this, but I will be back.”
Frijns, who has competed in 77 Formula E races and appeared on the podium 13 times during his career in the all-electric championship, will be hoping he’s ready to race at the Sao Paulo E-Prix on 25 March.