Juan Manuel Correa Borja (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxwam maˈnwel koˈre.a ˈβoɾxa]; born August 9, 1999) is an American-Ecuadorian racing driver who most recently competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with DAMS Lucas Oil.
Aside from his single-seater career, he has also competed as a silver-ranked driver in the LMP2 category, winning a race in the European Le Mans Series.
In 2019, Correa sustained critical leg injuries in an accident at Spa-Francorchamps in Formula 2, which led to the death of fellow driver Anthoine Hubert.
[2][3] Correa began karting professionally in 2008, taking titles across Ecuador and the United States, becoming the Rotax Max Challenge Junior Champion in 2013.
[7] The Ecuadorian was unable to amass any podiums, despite starting from reverse grid pole on two occasions in the sprint race.
Nevertheless, he scored 42 points and finished twelfth in the standings, four positions ahead of his only full-time teammate Tatiana Calderón.
2019 was Correa's first full FIA Formula 2 season,[8] alongside teammate Callum Ilott for Sauber Junior Team by Charouz.
On August 31, 2019, Correa was involved in a serious crash with Anthoine Hubert on the second lap of the feature race of the 2019 Spa-Francorchamps Formula 2 round, Belgium.
Correa's media team released a statement a few hours after the accident confirming that he had suffered fractures to both of his legs and a minor spinal injury.
— (Translated from German)Dr. Christian Wahlen, the chief medical officer at Spa at the time of the accident, responded to this on 28 January 2020.
Wahlen also claims that he and President of the FIA Institute Gérard Saillant, a leading orthopaedic surgeon, were both constantly updating the family during the following days.
"[22] Correa made his racing comeback in the 2021 FIA Formula 3 Championship with ART Grand Prix, partnering Frederik Vesti and Aleksandr Smolyar.
[25] He finished 13th in the final standings, eight places better than prior season, and having scored a podium at Zandvoort sprint race.
[26] Correa replaced David Beckmann and made his return to the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2022, driving for Van Amersfoort Racing during the Yas Marina season finale.
However, the slight improvement from his grid slot was short lived, as he received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Marino Sato after the race, dropping him back into eighteenth place.
[32] Correa made his full-time return to Formula 2 in 2023 with Van Amersfoort Racing, partnering Richard Verschoor.
In 2024, Correa switched to DAMS Lucas Oil, forming an all-American lineup alongside Jak Crawford.
[47] The trio of Correa, Bent Viscaal, and Filip Ugran attained two top-five finishes and concluded the season sitting ninth out of eleven teams in the LMP2 standings.