Formula 2 car racer Henry Surtees, son of the legendary F1 race champion and MotoGP champion John Surtees, was killed in a fatal accident at the Brands Hatch F2 race in England on July 19.

The 18-year old, Henry Surtees was injured on the tracks while racing when he was hit on the head by a flying wheel that dislodged from a spinning race car which went off track. Henry lost his control and hit the barriers before the vehicle came to a halt. He had lost consciousness and was rushed to a medical centre immediately. Unfortunately Henry Surtees succumbed to the injuries.

The event organizers called off the race immediately. Henry Surtees was a promising driver just like his father and had a promising race car career ahead of him. In fact Henry had secured the first podium finish with a third place in the new series on July 18. Fate had other things written for him.

Formula 2 or F2 was revived in 2009 to act as the main feeder series for the Formula One racing. Following an absence of about 25 years, F2 returned this year to give young drivers a chance to compete in the highest level of motorsports. The F2 car racing fall in between F1 and F3 racing events.

Henry’s father, John Surtees had an illustrious racing career with 6 wins and 24 podium finishes in the F1. He also has to his credit, 38 Moto GP wins and 45 podiums finishes. He is also the only man to have won world titles for four wheels and two wheels racing.