Pepe Martí reveals medical car phone call after horror Formula E crash

Pepe Martí has revealed how he used a phone lying in the FIA medical car following his horror São Paulo Formula E crash to call his family and reassure them he was OK.

The Spaniard’s debut in the all-electric series last December ended with a frightening airborne crash, caused by Nico Müller and António Félix da Costa ahead slowing more quickly than he expected as a full-course yellow was introduced.

Martí hit both drivers and went skywards before his Cupra Kiro finally landed back on the circuit – albeit destroyed.

Thankfully, Martí quickly escaped the wreckage, which had briefly caught alight, before being taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks – he was quickly cleared.

Discussing his accident ahead of this weekend’s second round in Mexico City, Martí revealed how he asked permission in the medical car to use a phone he spotted to call his family back in Spain.

Addressing what his crash felt like from the cockpit, Martí told RacingNews365: "From the inside, I didn’t think it was that spectacular or that big, to be fair.

"Because it happened so quickly, first of all, and then obviously, from the moment I hit Nico and Antonio, my hands were off the wheel, and you’re just hoping that nothing happens to you.

"And, yeah, obviously the first thing I did was get out of the car. The main thing is that if you’re out of the car, you look like you’re okay, and that’s the first message I wanted to send to my family and to everyone else.

"And then, yeah, I got into the medical car, and there was a phone lying there. I said, 'Can I call my family?' I spoke with my family back in Spain and let them know I was fine, because, in the end, they were watching the race and didn’t know exactly what was going on."

Martí had looked set for a strong haul of points, but instead left Brazil empty-handed, with a car that has required an entire rebuild from scratch in order to race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

What he did leave São Paulo with was one of the biggest penalties handed out since the FIA introduced the super licence points system.

Following the crash, it was determined by the stewards' that: "Car 3 [Marti] caused a collision with car 13 [da Costa] and car 51 [Müller] at Turn 6-7. When Race Control deployed the FCY,
cars 13 and 51 reacted correctly by reducing their speed during the countdown and selecting
different lines to avoid a collision. 

"Car 3, however, arrived at the scene too quickly and was unable to react in time to prevent an impact. Because this represents a worst-case scenario in terms of safety, the Stewards have decided to impose a severe penalty."

The "severe penalty" handed to the 20-year-old was a back-of-the-grid start in Mexico City and four penalty points, which will remain on his super licence for the next 16 races.

While Martí understood the reasoning behind the severity of the punishment, he did feel it was harsh.

Asked if he agreed with the size of the penalty, Martí explained: "I don’t mind the penalty. I think it’s on the harsh side.

"I agree with the [grid] penalty, but I don’t agree with the four penalty points, because in the end, the season is 17 races, you get 12 points across a year, and to get four for something that, with all due respect, [Felipe] Drugovich also did – just without coming away with a crash – I thought was very harsh."