|
Drivers and teams attached stickers for "Billy Whizz" on cars
and helmets in Russian Grand Prix practice, with an online
fundraising campaign for the 17-year-old's recovery reaching
768,000 pounds ($993,254.40).
"I think I was affected more by Billy's incident than I probably
have been by most, with the exception of what happened in
Formula One..." said Hamilton, whose boyhood hero was the late
Brazilian Ayrton Senna who died in 1994.
"Just to see a kid...I've been there, been in that position of
racing, he was doing well fighting to get to Formula One and
then such a horrific incident. It really hit home," added the
Briton.
"My mind just shines onto Zanardi and showing what he was able
to do. I have all the belief, or hope, that Billy will be able
to do something similar."
Zanardi, an ex-Formula One driver, had his legs amputated above
the knee after a ChampCar crash at the Lausitzring in Germany on
Sept. 15, 2001.
The Italian, a two times champion in the U.S.-based series, lost
all but a liter of the blood in his body but returned to racing
a year and a half after the accident and competed in the world
touring car championship.
He then took up hand-cycling and won three Paralympic gold
medals.
Monger, who collided with a stationary car that was unsighted
ahead of him during the race at Donington Park on April 16, has
had multiple operations since the crash but has already said he
hopes to race again.
"His answer to it was 'we'll sort that', it was as simple as
that," his JHR team boss Steven Hunter told the BBC.
"He's a very, very positive young lad. The first thing he
started to do was work out how he would use a clutch with his
hands."
(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
