Watch: Indian F2 driver Kush Maini survives scary crash in Baku

Indian driver Kush Maini survived a horrifying crash on Sunday after he stalled at the start of the feature race in Formula 2, a support race for Formula 1. The frightening incident occurred on the opening lap of the Formula 2 race, which preceded the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The 23-year-old Indian driver had nowhere to go at the start as his car’s engine suddenly stopped working. This left fellow drivers Josep Maria Marti and Oliver Goethe unsighted, leading to a massive collision. The rear of Maini’s car was completely destroyed by the impact of the crash, but fortunately, he emerged unscathed.
Maini’s father, Gautam, confirmed to PTI that his son is doing fine.
“He is doing okay. As part of the standard protocol, all medical check-ups were conducted on Kush, and all reports are normal,” he said.
Maini, representing Invicta Racing in his second Formula 2 season, is 11th in the standings. The race was won by Richard Verschoor of Trident. Following the investigation of the incident, the stewards handed Maini a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision.
“After the race, the Stewards heard from the Team Representative and examined available video evidence before determining that the driver of Car 9 had failed to engage the Start Set-Up Procedure for the start of the race, an error that led to the car stalling on the grid and causing the subsequent collision.
“The Stewards determined that because of this, Maini was wholly responsible for the collision, and as a result, elected to hand him a 10-second time penalty. With Maini not finishing the Feature Race, his time penalty has been converted into a five-place grid penalty,” read a Formula 2 statement.
Maini will serve the penalty in the next race.
Safety has improved drastically in motorsport over the past two decades, but the sport remains dangerous. Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert succumbed to his injuries following an accident at the iconic Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium in 2019. The Frenchman was only 22.
Jules Bianchi, who was only 25, died following a collision with a recovery vehicle during the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix in 2014. The FIA introduced the Halo, a head-protecting device, on all Formula 1 cars after the fatal accident.