Alpine WEC driver Habsburg suffers fractures in testing crash

Habsburg was among a number of Alpine drivers testing the Alpine A424 LMDh car at Aragon on 27 March when he suffered a crash at Turn 7, prompting a visit to a nearby hospital for check-ups.

After returning to his home country of Austria the following day, he underwent further scans that revealed the full extent of his back injuries - although the doctors concluded that there was no neurological impact from the incident.

The 26-year-old has begun his recovery treatment, but it remains unclear if he will be fit enough to take part in the 6 Hours of Imola on 21 April.

Should the Austrian driver be unable to race in Italy, Alpine could call in factory Mercedes racer Jules Gounon, who was announced as its reserve driver in February this year.

“On the afternoon of March 27, 2024, during the A424 test session in Motorland (Aragon), driver Ferdinand Habsburg had an accident at Turn 7,” Alpine said in a statement issued to Motorsport.com.

“The cause of the accident is currently under investigation.

“Ferdinand was taken to the hospital in Alcaniz for examinations and was discharged in the evening.

“The next day, he was repatriated to Austria, where he underwent further examinations. Ferdinand suffers from two fractured lumbar vertebrae, with no neurological impact.

“He is beginning his recovery, the duration of which has not yet been defined. It will determine its participation in the next round of the FIA WEC at Imola.

“Alpine gives Ferdinand its full support and wishes him the best and quickest recovery.”

Habsburg’s crash follows an impressive start to Alpine’s LMDh programme in the Qatar 1812Km, where the #35 A424 he shared with Paul-Loup Chatin and Charles Milesi picked up a solid haul of points in seventh after the disqualification of the #2 Chip Ganassi Cadillac V-Series.R.

The sister #36 entry crewed by Mick Schumacher, Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere finished on the cusp of points in 11th.