SAO PAULO, Dec 7 — Enzo Fittipaldi, grandson of former Formula One champion Emerson Fittipaldi, said on Monday he was grateful to have escaped a serious crash with just a broken heel bone, vowing to be "back on track soon.”

Fittipaldi, 20, smashed into French driver Theo Pourchaire’s stalled ART car at the start of the Formula 2 race in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Both drivers had to be taken to hospital.

"I am very grateful that I only broke my heel and have some cuts and bruises,” Brazilian Fittipaldi wrote on Twitter.

"Thank you all for the messages, as well as the FIA and medical staff for taking great care of me. I am very happy that Theo is ok. I will be back on track soon and faster than ever.”

The message was accompanied by a picture of him giving the thumbs-up from his hospital bed, a bandage over his bruised and swollen left eye.

Pourchaire, 18, tweeted on Sunday he was "globally fine,” but unsure he would continue his season.

The race was swiftly red-flagged, with the rest of the field returning to the pits.

It restarted 40 minutes later, before another accident and red flag brought it to a premature end.

Born in Miami, Fittipaldi worked his way up from karting through Formula 3, making his debut in Formula 2 in September with Czech team Charouz Racing.

His grandfather Emerson won two F1 world championships: first with Lotus in 1972 when he was just 25, the youngest champion up to then, and two years later with McLaren. — Reuters