IndyCar Series racer Ed Jones has been diagnosed with a broken bone in his hand following a heavy crash in the season opening St Petersburg race on Sunday.
Jones clipped the inside wall at Turn 9 in his Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara-Chevrolet early in the race.
That flicked the car across the track, where it made heavy contact with the concrete barrier.
Despite yellow flags being waved, Jones’s stricken machine was clipped by Matheus Leist – who was also removed from the race in the incident.
“We had to take risks to get forward quickly,” said Jones.
“I made it from 16th to ninth, then I just tried to get a run on [James] Hinchcliffe and unfortunately I clipped the inside wall in Turn 9 and that was it.
“I’m sorry for the team, they did great work and they deserved a better result.”
Jones complained of pain in his left hand after returning to the pitlane and was taken for evaluation at the track medical centre.
IndyCar medical director Dr Geoffrey Billows said Jones had suffered a “small non-displaced fracture of his distal fourth metacarpal”.
Jones’s hand has been splinted and he will follow up with a hand surgeon in Miami.
It is expected that with proper splinting he will still be able to participate in racing activities, with the next round of the championship scheduled for Austin in a fortnight’s time.