It was almost seven years ago. As Formula 1 wrapped up its Saturday running, with the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel locking out the front row of the Belgian Grand Prix grid ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, Formula 2 took centre stage for its feature race.
Unfortunately, everyone knows what happened next. A chain of events at the top of Raidillon on the opening lap led to a horrific crash – the kind that leaves only hope to cling to. For Anthoine Hubert, whose car was struck violently in the cockpit area by Juan Manuel Correa with the Ecuadorian-American powerless to avoid the collision, that hope would prove vain.
The Frenchman, who had been gaining prominence in the paddock with victories at Monaco and Paul Ricard that season, passed away as heavy silence descended upon the paddock.
Anthoine Hubert, Arden, winning in Monaco
Photo by: FIA Formula 2
The next day, after the tributes, the show went on. Leclerc held off Hamilton to claim his maiden Formula 1 victory, while Bottas completed the podium.
Vettel, who finished fourth, endured a far less memorable race than his team-mate on that day – a race, in fact, he could have given up on. In a column in The New York Times, the four-time world champion revealed his state of mind in the aftermath of the tragedy, admitting that for the first time in his career, he initially did not want to take the start.
“There were moments when I lost control of the car because something broke or I simply pushed too hard,” Vettel wrote. “I’ve had my fair share of crashes. Even though a crash occurs very quickly, when it happens, time seems to slow down.
“You begin to realize the shattering reality and consequences of chasing high speeds. The brutal force of a crash reminds you of what you’re playing with. But I kept racing.
Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF90
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“In more than two decades of racing, there was a single time when I seriously questioned jumping into the car again. It was during the Belgian Grand Prix in August 2019, after a young French driver, Anthoine Hubert, lost his life in a racing accident at age 22.
“I have had accidents myself, but they were fortunately only minor ones. I have seen others crash, too. But that young man had his whole life ahead of him, and it just stopped with all of us watching.
“I called my wife, Hanna, and told her I did not want to race the next day after the accident. I slept poorly that night; yet I decided to race.”
Vettel, who was 32 at the time, added: “After that weekend, I felt differently about my sport, which I only grasped after I retired. I was never afraid of the speeds, but now I could see them, not just feel them.
“I began to experience a responsibility that I had not had before. I started to understand that speed, progress and innovation only matter if they move us in the right direction.”
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