22-year old Anthoine Hubert killed in violent Belgian Formula 2 crash

Motorsports is dangerous.

After Jessi Combs was killed last week trying to set a new land-speed record, it has claimed another victim last Saturday. This time a young, Formula 1 hopeful.

Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert was killed this weekend after a huge crash at the Belgian Grand Prix. The 22-year old Frenchman was involved in a multi-car accident where Juan Manuel Correa crashed into him at Turn 4 of the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit. All drivers involved were immediately taken to the medical center, but unfortunately, Hubert succumbed to his injuries.

Hubert, who drove for the BWT Arden team, was 8th in the championship and had scored two wins this season. He was also a part of Renault F1’s young driver program, hoping to get into Formula 1 in the near future.

Since the announcement of his passing, numerous racing drivers and teams from across motorsports have paid tribute to Hubert including former Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso and defending F1 Lewis Hamilton. Formula 1 held a minute of silence before the start of the Belgian Grand Prix, and Charles Leclerc even dedicated his first-ever Formula 1 victory to Hubert, who he had previously raced with in the past.

The FIA will be launching a full investigation into the accident, analyzing the cause and how the safety features of both the car and track held up during the crash. There was no timeline released as to when a report will be produced.

Hubert is the first person to die in a race sanctioned by the FIA following the crash of Jules Bianchi in 2014 who sustained head injuries. Since his accident, the ‘halo’ head-protection device has been introduced as a result of the accident.

Surely motorsports has gotten a lot safer than it was before thanks to numerous safety features and practices. However, drivers can still get seriously injured or even get killed in case of a crash or an accident, and Hubert’s death is a grim reminder of what drivers all over the world face in every race.