FIA Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert has died at the age of 22 from injuries sustained in the horrific Feature Race crash with Juan Manuel Correa at Spa-Francorchamps.
Hubert had been fighting with Giuliano Alesi in the battle for a top 10 place on the second lap of the race, before Alesi lost control of his Trident Racing car at the top of Raidillon.
In the distraction Hubert hit the outside wall before drifting back onto the track into the path of Correa, who hit the side of the BWT Arden car at full speed before rolling himself.
Race Control announced that the race would not restart with no points awarded after a red flag period.
A statement released by the FIA confirmed that the Frenchman died at 18:35 local time and that Correa was in a stable condition in the CHU Liège hospital. Alesi was taken to the medical centre but was discharged with no injuries.
It read: “The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) regrets to advise that a serious incident involving cars #12 [Correa], #19 and #20 [Alesi] occurred at 17:07 on 31/08/19 as a part of the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race at Spa-Francorchamps, round 17 of the season.
“The scene was immediately attended by emergency and medical crews, and all drivers were taken to the medical centre.
As a result of the incident, the FIA regrets to inform that the driver of car #19, Anthoine Hubert (FRA), succumbed to his injuries, and passed away at 18:35.
“The FIA is providing support to the event organisers and the relevant authorities, and has commenced an investigation into the incident.”
Hubert entered F2 in 2019 as the reigning and last GP3 Series champion and was held in high value by his parent squad, the Renault F1 Team.
The Frenchman recorded two victories in 2019 at Monaco and Paul Ricard, and currently holds eighth place in the Drivers’ Championship.
His start to car racing was equally impressive, winning the French Formula 4 title at the first attempt in 2013 before moving to Formula Renault and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.
Everyone at The Checkered Flag expresses their deepest sympathies to everyone connected to Anthoine after today’s events.
