Sean Gelael is set to miss the next four rounds of the Formula 2 championship due to the back injury he sustained in Spain.
Gelael suffered a small back fracture in Saturday’s Feature Race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after suffering a heavy landing when he ran over a kerb.
Gelael, who has previously participated in five Formula 1 practice sessions for Toro Rosso, has completed in the championship since its GP2 days in 2015.
He has taken two podiums and a best of 15th place in the standings.
Gelael has confirmed that he will be out of action for at least six weeks and has returned to his native Indonesia for his recovery period.
Formula 2 has events at Spa-Francorchamps, Monza, Mugello and Sochi across the next six weeks, meaning Gelael is unlikely to return to the cockpit until the final rounds of the season.
Those two rounds are due to take place in Bahrain, at the end of November and early December, alongside Formula 1’s planned pair of events in the country.
“It has been a very challenging season… and because of the support of all of you, we still keep working hard, we still keep faith, and we still thank God for everything,” Gelael posted on social media.
DAMS, which won last year’s Teams title with current Formula 1 rookie Nicholas Latifi and Red Bull/AlphaTauri reserve driver Sergio Sette Camara, has yet to name a replacement.
It also fields Williams young driver Dan Ticktum.
