Pascal Wehrlein after his brutal Formula E crash in Sao Paulo: "That's why I needed help immediately"

It was the scene that everyone was talking about after the Formula E season opener in Sao Paulo: World champion Pascal Wehrlein's Porsche was catapulted into the air in a duel with Nick Cassidy and flipped over. A few days after the race, the German talks about his biggest fear during the accident, the role of the "Halo" and his recovery together with his family.

"It all started in turn 4, we were already side by side," recalls Wehrlein in a written statement provided to e-Formula.news by Porsche. "I set myself up to be on the inside for turn 5, which went well. To his right was Max Günther."

"Nick and I touched, but I was alongside him and I made it through," said the 30-year-old, describing the course of the accident. "Nick's contact with Max broke something on the right-hand side of the suspension of his Jaguar. In the next corner, Nick was then unable to turn in properly, so he hit me and I got lifted up in the air."

Wehrlein's Porsche flew top first into the fence, landed upside down and came to a halt after a few metres. Wehrlein was heard on the team radio vehemently demanding: "Red flag, red flag, red flag!" You could hear the panic in his voice. "My first concern was that another car would hit me from behind," he explained. "That's why the red flag was so important at that moment."

A huge crash for our reigning world champion Pascal Wehrlein as he came together with Nick Cassidy

Pascal reported he was okay and was out of the car shortly after ?#SaoPauloEPrix pic.twitter.com/i2kCk2Gqvy

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) December 7, 2024

"I just wanted to get out as quickly as possible"

"There are accidents like this where another car crashes into a car that has had an accident," explains Wehrlein - possibly thinking of the fatal Formula 2 accident involving Anthoine Hubert at Spa-Franchorchamps in 2019. "Normally, it doesn't end badly, but we're talking about situations where the cars are on their wheels."

"I was stranded upside down - much more dangerous," Wehrlein points out. "After the red flags were out, I just wanted to get out of the car as quickly as possible, because my biggest fear was a fire or the car being alive. Luckily none of this was the case. That's why I needed help immediately."

The help was on the way: The Formula E recovery team freed Wehrlein from his car after a few minutes. The reigning champion escaped without any serious injuries and is grateful for the safety of the cars today. "It's very likely that that I would not have waked away from it like this without the Halo. But it's not just about the Halo, it's the combination of all the different things that make these cars so safe these days. Halo, the safety cell, harnesses, helmet and so on."

"Plus, the other element is the quick help you get after something has happened. The extraction team wants to know whether you are okay, they want to know whether you feel any pain and, if so, in which area of your body and so on. They are absolute professionals, and I am glad we have them. But even though it was quite a shock, I felt like I was very conscious about my body, and as didn't feel any broken bones or so," explains Wehrlein. "This was another reminder that we should never stop improving safety in our sport."

"Some injuries sustained" - recovery with the family

While the fans were still worried about the Porsche driver's health, his family were able to breathe a sigh of relief: "I spoke to my family on the phone in the medical centre at the track," says Wehrlein. "I was able to reassure them, but it was also good for me. Only then was I accompanied to the hospital so that I could be checked over more thoroughly."

Many of his fellow drivers were also worried, he reports - especially his opponent in the accident, Nick Cassidy. "That shows that we have a good relationship with each other in Formula E. After the race, I received a lot of well wishes from my colleagues."

"I suffered a few injuries, but I'm doing well considering the circumstances," said Wehrlein, summarising the consequences of what was probably his worst crash in Formula E to date. "I'm at home with my family in Switzerland and recovering. My focus now is on recovery and spending some time with my family - that helps me."

? pic.twitter.com/Dfv4LJC02r

- TAG Heuer Porsche FE Team (@PorscheFormulaE) December 8, 2024