Juan Manuel Correa has joined ART Grand Prix for the 2021 Formula Three season, as he resumes racing after circa 18 months out with injury.
Correa has been sidelined since sustaining severe leg injuries in late August 2019 during a tragic accident during the F2 Belgian Feature Race, which saw Anthoine Hubert lose his life.
The American-Ecuadorian driver has since underwent multiple surgeries and rehabilitation in order to resume his racing career, in which he was Alfa Romeo’s Development Driver at the time of his accident.
Speaking on his decision to return to racing despite stepping down to F3 for this season, Correa said: “F3 is a transition year, my dream is still to reach F1 and this is the first step in my comeback.”
Correa has refused to lay down targets for this season because of how long he has spent away from a racing car, saying: “… I have not driven a car for a year and a half and there is a big learning curve ahead. I am entering this season with an open mind, I won’t put pressure on myself, I will do my best,…”
The former F2 driver has also admitted that returning to motorsport and resuming what he loves is a ‘victory’ in itself.
ART GP Team Principal, Sebastien Philippe hailed Correa’s return as a positive move and that the youngster has been ‘always fighting while keeping in mind that he did not want to give up on his dream to keep racing at the highest possible level.’
Philippe also spoke of how Correa has overcome adversary to become an admirable figure in motorsport, saying; “Juan Manuel is an example of bravery and tenacity and ART Grand Prix is proud to give him the opportunity to return to racing.”
Correa had enjoyed a strong karting and junior career and had collected two podiums in his rookie F2 campaign prior to the accident, with ART now ‘keen to accompany Juan Manuel to resume his career’ whilst he climbs the motorsport ladder once again.
Correa will be joined at ART GP by Aleksandr Smolyar and Frederik Vesti with the new season set to commence in Spain across weekend of 7-9 May 2021, as a new race weekend format makes its debut in the series.
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