Juan Manuel Correa has suffered an acute respiratory failure and is in a critical but stable condition in hospital in London.
The 20-year-old was involved in the high-speed Formula 2 accident at Spa-Francorchamps last Saturday which claimed the life of Anthoine Hubert.
Alfa Romeo development driver Correa suffered leg fractures and a minor spinal injury and on Wednesday was transferred from Liege to an undisclosed location in the United Kingdom for further treatment.
Early on Saturday morning his family issued an update revealing that Correa has developed ARDS [Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome] and is on an ECMO [Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation] machine.
“First of all, on behalf of our son we wish to thank everyone within and outside the motorsports community for the wonderful and caring get well wishes that we have received, as well as messages for a speedy recovery,” read a statement issued by his parents.
“We are confident that Juan Manuel will review them all himself once he is back in charge of his social media accounts.
“Honouring our son’s straight-to-the-point and honesty that characterises him, we wish to update you on the status of his injuries and physical condition.
“As time has progressed, new complications have surfaced as a consequence of the massive impact he suffered Saturday in Belgium.
“On his arrival to London, Juan Manuel was diagnosed with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
“This is an injury considered common in high impact accidents such as this one. Unfortunately, this injury resulted in Juan Manuel falling into Acute Respiratory Failure. Juan Manuel is currently in an Intensive Care Unit that specialises in respiratory injuries. At this point of time he is an in induced state of unconsciousness and under ECMO support. Juan Manuel is in critical but stable condition.
“We are confident that our son will surprise us like he always does with his tremendous fighting will and strength and will recover completely.
“At this time, we kindly request that our privacy and space be respected. As a family, we need to pull together and be 100% there for Juan Manuel.
“We wish to take this opportunity to give our condolences to the Hubert family for their loss. Our hearts are broken, and we can only imagine the pain this loss has brought them.”
