Sophia Floersch had 'angel on her shoulder' in horror crash

With surgery on her fractured spine continuing, Sophia Floersch's team principal has said she had an "angel on her shoulder".

Formula three driver Sophia Floersch suffered a fractured spine in a frightening incident at the Macau Grand Prix.

Sophia Floersch had an "angel on her shoulder", her team principal said after she somehow survived a terrible crash in a FIA Formula three grand prix on Sunday. The teenager provided another update on her rehabilitation.

Floersch suffered a fractured spine in a frightening incident at the Macau Grand Prix, her airborne car flying backwards over the edge of the circuit and into a large hoarding on the other side, close to where marshals and photographers were stationed.

WATCH | Sophia Floersch fractures spine in horrific Macau GP crash

Despite her significant injuries, Floersch on Sunday posted on Twitter that she was "fine", while an FIA statement revealed that driver Sho Tsuboi, two members of the media and one marshal had also been transferred to a local hospital in a conscious state for further evaluation.

On Monday a message on Floersch's Twitter account read: "Current interim information: The medical team is deliberately working slowly to avoid risks. The previous surgical course was good and without complications. The surgery that began this morning continues."

Aktuelle Zwischeninfo: Das Ärzte-Team arbeitet bewusst langsam, um Risiken zu vermeiden. Der bisherige OP-Verlauf sei gut und ohne Komplikationen. Die heute morgen begonnene OP dauert an. pic.twitter.com/3gHSCtFe4B

— Sophia Floersch (@SophiaFloersch) November 19, 2018

 

Meanwhile, Frits van Amersfoort, owner of Van Amersfoort Racing, said: "We were thinking the worst. I tend to say that she had an angel on her shoulder and so do the other people who were involved in the crash.

"We shouldn't forget that photographers and a marshal were also injured and it could have been a lot, lot worse.

"She was travelling like a rocket in her own car. We are extremely lucky that by coincidence she was flying, because she flew over a barrier. I think if she had hit the barrier it would have gone a lot worse.

"She flew into the fence and then into a photographers' stand. Her head was compressed by the impact and that compressed the spine, which is why she had the fractures. Surviving that is really incredible."

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live , he added: "We were looking at the race and then we saw some shots of our car in the fence — so then we knew that there was something wrong and that it probably was bad.

"Then one of the worst 20 minutes of my life started because it took quite long before the race control could say anything about the health of Sophia... This was surely one of the worst [crashes] I ever saw."