Jules Bianchi and Ho-Pin Tung will miss tomorrow’s sprint race in Budapest after their first corner crash this afternoon handed the pair an enforced stay in hospital tonight for observation.
The Frenchman spun at the first corner and turned into a head on collision with the Chinese driver, who was then hit from behind by Rodolfo Gonzalez: the incident brought out the red flags as the medical crew attended the site and assisted with their extraction.
Both drivers were taken to the circuit’s medical centre for check ups, with Tung helicoptered to the local hospital and Bianchi following shortly after for tests.
Tung’s assessment revealed no serious injury but the medical staff have requested that he stay overnight for observation and as such will be unable to make the start of tomorrow’s sprint race.
After the race Ferrari released a statement which revealed that Bianchi “fractured his second lumbar vertebra and is now recovering at Budapest’s AEK Hospital. The French driver, who never lost consciousness after the heavy impact of the accident that happened during the early stages of the race, will not be back in the cockpit until he has fully completed his rehabilitation program.”