Formula Three: Australian Alex Peroni recovers from frightening crash
Australian Formula Three driver Alex Peroni faces a long recovery from a frightening smash in Italy last month, but has vowed to fight his way back onto the grid next year.
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Australian Formula Three driver Alex Peroni must spend three months in a back brace as he recovers from injuries suffered in a frightening smash in Italy last month.
But the Tasmanian teenager said the high-speed crash — he lost control at 220km/h — had not scared him off a return to motorsport.
Peroni is back in his hometown of Hobart recovering from a fractured vertebrae he suffered in the horrifying accident at Monza. His car became airborne and spun through the air before it crashed on to a safety barrier.
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Remarkably, the 19-year-old walked away from the wreckage to a waiting medical car, but he suffered a mild concussion along with the back injury and has little recollection of the smash.
The youngster was forced to spend a week in hospital in Italy where he was initially told by doctors he would have to wear a back brace for a month.
But specialists in Australia have told him the brace must stay on for three months to allow the fracture to heal properly.
“It is a slow and long process, but I think I am very lucky to just have this fractured vertebrae, to be honest. It clearly could have been a lot worse,” Peroni said.
“The first worry at the hospital in Italy was if I had to have surgery or not … but luckily I didn't.
“I have to wear the brace all day when I am standing and sitting. So towards the end of the day it starts getting a bit sore and I kind of just want to lay down and take it off.
“Originally at the hospital (in Italy) I got told 30 days and then I could get it checked out and maybe I could have the brace off, but then we saw a specialist here and got a second opinion and I got told actually three months because it needs more time to heal.”
Peroni was knocked out during the crash and, while he regained consciousness after the impact, he has little memory of the hours after the accident.
In fact, one of Peroni's first comments to his father, Piero, was asking if the team could repair his wrecked car and race the next day, unaware of the enormity of his accident.
“A reason for that is because I don't really remember it, I don't have any trauma from it,” Peroni said.
“I can remember just seeing the kerb in my sight … then there is a little snapshot in my head of me on the barrier with the car nose through the fence and nothing after that. The footage of me getting out and walking to the medical car is all a bit weird because I have no recollection of that."
Against his father's wishes, Peroni watched vision of the accident later in the hospital, but isn't keen to revisit it.
“I watched a few hours later that day after the crash, Dad wasn't too keen on letting me watch it, but I got my phone back and it's pretty hard to stay away from it,” Peroni said.
“I was a little bit shocked at first because I could tell everyone around me was quite stressed about the situation. I asked what happened and they said 'It was a big one'.
“Watching the video kind of said it all. I was a little bit shocked at first, but now it's fine. I don't really enjoy watching it, but I don't have any stress from it.”
Peroni was in his first season in F3 — a feeder series for Formula 2, which is the rung below Formula One — with the Spanish-based Campos Racing.
While he focuses on his recovery, his support team is now focused on raising capital to cover the cost of Peroni's written-off car, which was not fully covered by the team's insurance, and a budget to race again next year.
But Peroni is determined to make it back.
“Never for a moment did I think about stopping," he said.
“The aim was to always be in F3 next year and that's still the aim. We have to pay for the damage to the car which is our first hurdle to jump over and then we can concentrate on next year, but we are confident we can be back on the grid.
“I don't think I will be fully satisfied until I am back in the car.”
Originally published as Formula Three: Australian Alex Peroni recovers from frightening crash
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