Anthoine Hubert, F2, 2019

FIA confirms F2 driver Anthoine Hubert was killed in Spa crash

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Formula 2 have confirmed Anthoine Hubert was killed in the crash which occured on the second lap of today’s feature race.

Arden racer Hubert, 22, was involved in a collision with rival Juan Manuel Correa at Raidillon. Hubert is believed to have struck a barrier on the outside of the corner, then been collected by Correa, both impacts occuring at very high speed.

Correa’s condition was described as “stable” in an official statement issued by the FIA:

FIA statement on the Formula 2 crash at Spa

The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) regrets to advise that a serious incident involving cars number 12, 19 and 20 occurred at 17:07 on 31/08/19 as a part of the FIA Formula 2 Sprint 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 number 19, Antoine Hubert (FRA), succumbed to his injuries, and passed away at 18:35.

The driver of car number 12, Juan-Manuel Correa (USA), is in a stable condition and is being treated at the CHU Liège hospital. More information on his condition will be provided when it becomes available.

The driver of car number 20 Giuliano Alesi (FRA) was checked and declared fit at the medical centre.

The FIA is providing support to the event organisers and the relevant authorities, and has commenced an investigation into the incident.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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115 comments on “FIA confirms F2 driver Anthoine Hubert was killed in Spa crash”

    1. yes, indeed.

  1. Panagiotis Papatheodorou (@panagiotism-papatheodorou)
    31st August 2019, 17:57

    Any thing we can say is too little. Best wishes to his family and loved ones. Condolences to them as well.

    Terrible day for Motorsport.

    1. Condolences to his relatives. Terrible news and sad day to all motorsport fans.

  2. Sincere condolences.

    1. May you rest in piece Hubert

      1. Oh well, my phone messed this up… Peace(…) and should not been a reply..

  3. Shocking news. Lost for words

  4. 😭😭😭😭😭 Condolences to Antoine’s family. Nothing more can be said…

  5. Terrible news. No other words.

  6. No words, tragic day for motorsport. Condolences to his family and friends

  7. Wow. So shocking. Condolences to his family and friends.

  8. That’s shocking. Poor guy. RIP

  9. This is terrible.

    This was not a freak accident like Bianchi’s or del Villota’s, but rather a common one just with incredibly, but frequently achieved high speeds.

    This was an accident were the protective measures were in place (safety cell) but they just wasn’t strong enough.
    And I’m so frustrated they are not. Because they should be.

    And this raises the question if all other safety cells are also susceptible to such failure.

    This could easily repeat itself in F1, where cars are heavier and faster…

    …the whole thing send shivers down my spine.

    RIP, Antoine.

    1. At such speeds, sometimes not even the best security measures will be enough.
      We should always push for safety, so this can be no more a “sport that kills people”, but speed is dangerous and dangerous things happen at high speeds and will always happen, no matter how safe the cars are.

      Sometimes everything depends on luck, as the best safety measures that could be used were being used, and unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side today.

      1. Sad but true.

        It is impossible to predict the unpredictable until the unpredictable happens.

      2. i just saw the accident, oh my god, i m sure the correa’s unavoidable/unfortunate collision to herbert’s car after herbert’s car struck walls and out of control is the main reason… and not the wall crash… that was horrific t-bone accident, as renan and others mentioned, safety cell must be compromised if not weakened enough for the second collision the destroy it… guess this will bring the safety cell’s strengths and angle of attack/collision tests to change a bit…

        1. Show some respect and use his correct name.

    2. I don’t know if F2’s safety cell is the same one of F1. If not, they should improve it urgently.

      When I saw the crash live I was very worried, then they cancelled the race and I knew that something bad happened, I think he passed away at the very moment of the crash.

      Very sad. I don’t know if I can eat or do anything at the moment.

      1. Even when the safety cell manages to keep the driver unscathed, the human body can only take so much of an impact. At some point the organs will suffer lethal damages.

    3. Problem is that you get hit with a car with the same extreme strength.. don’t know if you can do anything about that.
      Impact with the wall is not a problem. A car coming to a halt hit by a car at fast pace is just very difficult to protect from.
      reminds me of Zanardi’s accident.

      Hope they will honor him with a great race tomorrow. For me the only way to honor a race driver!

      1. Problem is that you get hit with a car with the same extreme strength.. don’t know if you can do anything about that.
        Impact with the wall is not a problem. A car coming to a halt hit by a car at fast pace is just very difficult to protect from

        Then there’s the fact that his car would have been compromised by the first impact as well. It’s just seems like the most horrendous bad luck.

        1. If the wall had been further back he wouldn’t have bounced back into the path of another car. If they’d made the corner sharper so you couldn’t go flat out up the hill and over a blind crest the cars may not go out of control so frequently at that part of the circuit. If the kerbing were less aggressive or the track itself wider… this accident has been waiting to happen for a long time. It’s tragic, and it’s bad luck, but surely they have to take steps to minimise the chances of this happening again, because tomorrow there is no reason the same accident can’t happen in the Formula 1 race, with faster and heavier cars.

          1. Your right. Let’s just stop racing. Oh. They have.

          2. It’s not about the wall. It’s about to young drivers in top very fast reaching series. Their temper isn’t stable yet. And they tend not to think about consiquences. Even when there is a problem and a crash in front, some still trying to use the situation ignoring yellow flags and thinking only after.

            Another issue is radio culture. In American series drivers have all information about incidents on the track half a second after they happened with all instructions what to do, to show down, for instance. Meaning not from 300 to 280 km/h, but to speed where you able to react quickly, like below 60 km/h. In European series this doesn’t exist at all.

          3. Too, racing, slow*
            T9…

    4. To me, the impact looks so bad and hard – no way your organs can survive.
      Even if FIA made a rule stating cockpits need to survive three impacts after each other, the amount of energy involved means no human can survive. Even if the cockpit does. Even if you’re cushioned in airbags, if another car hits you at 250(?) you have zero chance.

      So
      No
      There’s no solution to this

      The only consolation is that he died doing what he loved

      1. I seriously doubt he would’ve died from the g-forces alone just looking at the video. It would be better to have the data to say such a thing.

        If you by bad luck scrolled twitter and saw the photo of the cockpit after the crash the way I did (i don’t advise it), you’ll see that this fatality is heavily influenced by the rupture of the cockpit.

        1. Rafael Oliveira Frota
          31st August 2019, 19:33

          Yes, he could have died from deceleration. Even if you dont crack bones or stuff, it is possible for the Aorta (biggest artery in the body) to rupture or have a DAI (same as Bianchi’s) in your brain by deceleration.

        2. @verstappen g-force alone is the problem in these, our body can withstand much higher g-forces… but how long you sustain it… the accident if you saw it (i dont wanna reference where u can see it) was direct hit to his cockpit, and his cell split open (either was already damaged in first impact or correa’s car just pierced through it!) this will def bring safety stds for the cell into big question mark!

          1. g-force alone isnt* the problem in these crashes

      2. I feel so sad about this, but I think you are right there @verstappen.

      3. @verstappen

        I think abuse if track limits can be considered a contributing factor. Hubert was off track, Correa was driving at speed in the run off.
        The barriers and runoff zones are designed for the racing lines, allowing frequent excursions is a problem.

        1. On further reflection I think today is for condolences. We can discuss safety another day.

          1. @slotopen I was thinking the same thing and wanted to start a whole rant about Corea not being out there if it was grass or gravel and etc. etc.

            But you are right. Another day.

            RIP Anthoine….

    5. I do think it would make sense to just decide to wrap up the F2 season instead of running the last few races now.

      That would allow for a thorough investigation of what exactly happened as well as making sure that if there are any issues with the equipment, they can be adressed in time. And the drivers can all think about on track behaviour etc – see the guy wrapping up his 20th penalty point already, the american guy that got thrown out and now meets critique in Indycars too, and many many risky situations we’ve seen in the last few seasons.

      I am not even sure they should have the F1 race tomorrow to be honest. I feel too sad right now to enjoy any racing right now.

      1. Don’t be rediclcous

      2. What? Stop the whole season because of this? Why? Do you think that is what he would have wanted?

        By god, honour the man the way he deserves, with a massive party and then a hard race tomorrow followed by the best finish to the F2 season that we have ever seen.

        All this had wringing “stop the season – I feel sick – I dont know if I can eat” is pathetic.

        I’m am happy and grateful that such a man and indeed the other men who line up on the grid at each and every race have lived among us, they are gladiators, warriors, brave men and some of them will die racing, it is a fact of life and nothing need be done other than to honour them the way they deserve to be honoured.

        Stooping the race is one thing but the season? Only if you wish to disgrace his memory.

    6. Nobody has ever said that motor racing is safe or should be 100% safe. It is dangerous and that is why they do it and why people like it. You cannot, must not attempt to de-risk it or nerf it to the point where it is impossible for anyone to get hurt.

      This brave young man knew what he was doing, he knew the risks and he fought anyway.

      Don’t be sad about his passing, be grateful that such a man lived among us.

      1. must not attempt to de-risk it or nerf it to the point where it is impossible for anyone to get hurt

        Mate I watch motor racing for the racing, not because I might watch someone get hurt or killed. What a disgusting attitude you have.

  10. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
    31st August 2019, 18:12

    Dark dark moment. Heart breaking.

  11. Josh (@canadianjosh)
    31st August 2019, 18:13

    Damn Damn Damn

  12. So sad. Horrible to hear this

  13. Very sad to read this. The comments on the earlier story (about the race being abandoned) were worrying enough, and now comes this tragic news.

    Sincere condolences to his family and loved ones, and to the team.

    I hope the investigation that occurs meaningfully examines what might be done to prevent/minimize such recurrences, and not just with an eye on safeguarding against liability.

  14. Horrible news. R.I.P.

  15. May you rest in peace Hubert

  16. Damn.. 😢😢

    RIP Anthoine & my condolences to his family & Arden..

  17. Man this is sad really sad.. this shows that motorsport can never be too safe. Even if safety devices or parts look stupid or bad they have to be fitted in. Really sad.

  18. I have no words to describe my feelings.

    So so sad :(

  19. Adam (@rocketpanda)
    31st August 2019, 18:28

    Poor guy. Still rather shocked on what I just saw. Condolences.

  20. That’s so shocking, I don’t even have the words to describe my feelings.

    It’s an important reminder that motorsport is extremely dangerous and we mustn’t ever stop to improve safety for all the people involved.

    RIP Antoine Hubert

  21. This is incredibly sad.
    I feel like there isn’t really a chance of this happening, but wouldn’t it be right to just cancel the whole weekend?

    1. Of course not, everyone knows these things can happen in motorsport. There are tens of thousands of people who have paid, taken time of work, travelled etc. to see a race tomorrow.

      1. these things can happen in motorsport

        Agreed, that is a good reason for the race weekend to continue.

        There are tens of thousands of people who have paid, taken time of work, travelled etc. to see a race tomorrow.

        But this is not a good reason. This line of thought was partly a factor in Bianchi’s accident.

        1. @phylyp

          This line of thought was partly a factor in Bianchi’s accident.

          Completely different circumstances though. Unless you’re just going to say that Spa is no longer safe to race on then there is no point in cancelling the race tomorrow, nothing has changed. I do think the barrier there is a bit troublesome, but I assume they can’t do anything about it.

          1. @george – the point I am driving at was that the attendance of thousands of fans (and the legalities/cost associated with a cancellation) should never be a factor in such a decision, as your original comment implied.

          2. To add to that, I agree with you that Spa seems safe, there’s nothing about the circuit or conditions that warrants cancellation, so there’s no specific new risk, which is why I agree with your “these things can happen in motorsport”.

        2. The man who died because he was driving faster than he should, who’s family lawyered up and inflicted the halo on the FIA? Don’t bring him into this.

        3. Major blame for Bianchi’s accident lay on race director and Bernie. This incident unfortunate intangible accident. Although out of respect for Hubert, I hope podium celebrations are not held today after the race.

    2. @macaque
      You can call it the right thing to do if you want but you also need to find a guy that pays for it all.

  22. Shocked and sad!

    Rest In Peace Anthoine.

    Condolences to his family and friends.

    1. His death is a tragedy and a big loss.
      But I think many of the reactions here prove that motorsport is a very safe sport (although never too safe). Talks of ‘cancelling the race’, ‘cancelling the season’ show that somebody dying behind the wheel is quite exceptional.
      Compare that with for example bicycle racing (Tour de France, Giro, …). People still regularly get major injuries or die when riding a race or even training. Almost like F1 in the 60s and 70s. But it’s not a contest who has the most dangerous sport.

      I’m not saying we should just shrug our shoulders and move on. This accident needs to be investigated. But we should also be able to accept that freak accidents happen and cannot be prevented when racing. I’d rather have we’d have less deaths in daily traffic. 10 million € spend there will save a lot more lives.

      1. This should not have been a reply to Stubron Swiss…

  23. Awful. Call the weekend off.

    1. Josh (@canadianjosh)
      31st August 2019, 18:39

      Or race tomorrow in his honour and memory.

      1. We all must honor this man, doing what he loved. In our memories, Antoine.
        Regrettably, and a sad commentary of our times, interest in the next race will likely expand because of this. It’s happened at Indianapolis several times.

        1. Josh (@canadianjosh)
          31st August 2019, 18:53

          It sounds weird to say but he died doing what he loved, and I’m sure he would want the race to go on tomorrow. It’s extremely tough and it will be a sad day now that this has happened and I myself will have this young man on my mind today tonight and tomorrow but he surely would want the engines fired up tomorrow and the next day.

  24. There’s a spectator video showing the crash from a different angle.

    Huberts car hit the Barrier at very high speed, bounced out and hit Correa’s car at full speed, sending Huberts the car in a completely different direction.

    The first part of the crash was high speed as it was, and would have been worrying, unfortunately the second impact, was devastating.

    Hitting a spinning car at such high speed, the change in directions, and the G Forces, that Hubert must have experienced…. they would have been tremendous.

    May he rest in perfect peace. RIP

    1. you mean video from Marcel van Leest’s tweet?

      Actually just before Hubert hits the tyre barrier, the video shows a car whose rear wing has been damaged, implying that Hubert must have hit this car.

      Nonetheless, it’s devastating to hear something like this. RIP, Anthoine Hubert :(

      1. That was Alesi’s car. He lost the car and touched the inside barrier. Hubert tried to avoid him, lost his car and crashed into the outside barrier. Two other cars were able to avoid both Alesi and Hubert, however Correa hit Hubert full speed in the middle of the run-off.

      2. @dinaveer I think Alesi spun and hit the tyres on the inside of the corner backwards, Hubert went off to avoid him, and Correa looked like he was having his own moment running wide and Hubert’s car bounced off the barriers and ended up in front of Correa’s… terrible bad luck, three separate accidents really that combined into an awful one.

        1. @tflb

          Rubber will bounce energy back again. This is how Henry Surtees died. Cheap old used tires are worse than the Hay bales of the early years, but more convenient as they don’t need rebuilding when they are bolted together.
          it will probably get ignored though. Like having diggers and cranes on the circuit post Bianchi’s fatality.
          This should be basic stuff for this high tech and multi billion dollar industry.

          1. I was speechless in Germany when they brought the tractor on, they learnt nothing from the Bianchi accident. I know they have the Halo but there should be some barrier on the exterior of the vehicle to reduce any potential impact and ideally a slow zone system in corners to mitigate all risk of another accident when vehicles are on track.

        2. @tflb Well noticed. I don’t even want to think the amount of guilt he (Alesi) must be feeling for being a part in this tragedy.

      3. Why was Correa going full speed in the run off area?! Everyone else on track had slowed down already.

        1. Only those who saw Alesi’s slow car. Hubert himself was driving at high speed and had to avoid a car which was slowing down because of Alesi. Correa couldn’t see neither and may have had a puncture caused by debris. There is a video “how it happend” on YT which helps to understand the accident.

      4. Hubert didn’t hit his, Alesi’s car, rather Boccolacci lifted or braked hard and Hubert crashed while trying to avoid hitting Boccolacci.

  25. I’m so sorry, hopefully we learn something from this. My best to his family and friends.

  26. Cristian (@sandorcristian)
    31st August 2019, 18:52

    Speechless :( May God rest him in peace and give strength to his family and friends.

  27. Sergey Martyn
    31st August 2019, 19:14

    This is a grim reminder that motorsport despite all of the safety measures is still extremely dangerous and fatal- seeing the footage on TV shot with tele lenses make race cars blasting at 200mph look moving kinda slow but in fact they are fire-breathing monsters running at unbelievable speed and even a smallest mistake kills.
    Deepest condolences to Hubert family, I just realized Anthoine was 3 years younger than my son…

  28. Jelle van der Meer (@)
    31st August 2019, 19:41

    FIA confirmed on F2 website that tomorrow’s sprint race is cancelled

    1. Makes sense, I doubt any of the F2 grid would be in a frame of mind to go racing that soon.

  29. Tragic moment and condolences to family and friends. Death is always around us, on motorways and in the sport.

  30. One of the only positives of modern F1 cars being so spread out in performance is that even after a lap after a (re)start the chances of a t-bone like this are greatly reduced than in a spec series.

  31. Sadly, the old days are never that far away….:(

    My sympathy to those who are mourning.

  32. Horrible crash. Extremely bad luck for Anthoine. Sad to lose a talented driver like this.
    Condolences to his loved ones.
    Rest in peace.

  33. Sergey Martyn
    31st August 2019, 20:46

    What bothers me – the drivers behind haven’t even stopped – just check 1976 Nurburgring Lauda crash footage – Guy Edwards and Jacques Laffite stopped and together they set out to rescue Niki.

    1. They got marshals for that, unless its burning and a matter of seconds the best the drivers can do is just safely get out of the way.

    2. Those drivers would have been putting themselves in danger potentially if they had got out of their cars on track, and why would they have thought of doing that when the vast majority of crashes these days do not result in serious injury? Plus there are a lot more marshalls in motorsport races today than there were in the 70s, and it’s primarily their role to help out drivers involved in incidents. So easy to make comments like this in hindsight.

    3. You can’t compare 1976 Nürburgring to a race nowadays where 1st class medical staff is deployed within minutes after a crash. What would you the drivers expect to do when they approach the car?

    4. Stopping on a racetrack during a race not a smart thing to do. Leave it to the marshalls.

    5. Stopping would be even more dangerous than not doing anything. Might cause more accidents and deaths than what had occured.

    6. There was no need to extract them quickly. Plus, given that Correa suffered spinal injuries in the accident, not following the correct extraction procedure can be the difference between being absolutely fine and losing the use of your legs.

      Unless it’s an emergency, leave it for the medical professionals who will be there in 30 seconds.

    7. @Sergey Martyn
      Roger Williamson’s fatal accident at Zandvoort back in 1973 is even more shocking.
      Check the footage with his fellow driver and best friend David Purley.

  34. Terrible in every way.
    Racing drivers are well aware of the risk they are taking and it is precisely that thrill of danger that motivates them to compete at the highest level.
    Then this happens and the reality of a life cut short hits hard.

    All my sorrow and sympathies to family and friends.

  35. Vettel’s crash Spa 2007

  36. This might not be the right time to raise questions, but the run-off area at Raidillon looks way to short and the angle of the barriers seems to channel cars back to the track. Why hasn’t it been modified more in the last years?

    1. In fairness a lot of people complain about huge run off areas at tracks and as a consequence stands that are far away. This is why more modern tracks have the car park sized run off areas. I suspect if the FIA is serious on being responsible they will need to increase the run off, even an extra 10m would make a huge difference.

      I don’t think the cars construction could have done much more. This really was a truly tragic accident and I feel very sorry for all involved and his family and friends.

      1. @slowmo

        The barriers need to be moveable and the barrier also absorbs the energy as it slides along a path.
        They could build the grandstands so they over hang and the cars run off underneath.

        1. @bigjoe I’m sure barrier design can be improved too as you say. Ultimately if you just make cars stronger you can allow a impact at a higher force to not penetrate the safety cell but could still cause serious trauma through g force. I think the secondary impact here was likely the real issue and that could only have been stopped had the barrier caught the car and prevented it returning to the run off area. It’s one of those freak accidents where multiple issues all occur simultaneously but ultimately if they can occur then the FIA has a duty of care to minimise that risk in the future.

  37. 22 years old. Damn, that didn’t need to have happened.

  38. Has f2 become too fast? They are faster than not long ago generations of f1 cars.

  39. Eau/Radillion the most dangerous sequence of corners anywhere in the world in the modern era. I never want to see drivers injured or killed after accidents there, but this is the formidable reality of Spa, and I hope the profile of the turns is never changed in response to such tragedies.

    1. The turns maybe shouldn’t be altered. But surely runoff and barrier changes have to be considered.
      Such a shame this has cost a life.

  40. This is similar in a way to Henry Surtees’ fatal accident.
    Notice how the rubber crash barrier absorbs energy but then releases it sending the car back out into the path of a high speed car.
    Those barriers need to completely absorb the car and debris(surtees crash) Traditionally they are old car tires, which now seem to have old conveyor belts screwed over them. Rubber again.
    Forget criticizing the chassis of the car. More technology, thought and money need to go into those old rubber barriers. It might mean stopping the race to rebuild them like they did with hay bails before using rubber.

  41. Terrible accident but the FIA only have themselves to blame in my view. Tarmac run-off areas don’t work, if you watch the terrible video it is plain to see how one car hit the barriers at unabated speed (not slowed at all by the tarmac) and was then hit by the second car racing off the track on the run-off at full speed. If this run-off was still gravel I suspect this accident might not have happened.

    1. @machinesteve Gravel has issues too…

      1. I was going to link to the Zonda accident at Eau Rouge in 99.
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH_8EqwJY0E

    2. While I can understand the need for some people to cope by proposing knee-jerk solutions, I have complete faith in the research the FIA has been conducting for decades and which has lead to gravel traps being removed from most race tracks.

      I really don’t understand why people keep on suggesting we put an obstacle into the path of an out of control car. Gravel tends to do two things:
      1. The car digs in and starts flipping (see Zonta crash at Eau Rouge). So, instead of a car hitting the barriers right side up you may have a car hitting the barriers cockpit first.
      2. The car hits the gravel and starts flying (see Villeneuve crash at Eau Rouge). If his happens no speed is scrubbed off, because the car just completely flies over the gravel into the barriers. Imagine Correa hitting the gravel, lifting off and then hitting Hubert.

      Gravel may still have it’s purpose in low to middle speed corners, but thankfully the FIA has removed it from most high speed corners. There is one corner, where it has not been removed yet (I think because of a compromise concerning Moto GP) and that is the Curva Grande in Monza. I hate this corner and am very afraid of a big accident happening there, caused by the gravel. Next year we will have another such corner, the Tarzanbocht in Zandvoort. I cannot understand why the FIA has compromised on security in this case.

  42. Very sad, and him only 22 years old too.

  43. He died doing what he loved. This is positive… but all the talk about new f1 tracks being sterail? With massive run off areas there would have been no chance joining the track after collision with the wall. Hamilton, Vettel all talked about how they love old cirquits and find the new ones boring.
    Are we, the fans entertained now? Yes. But so are the drivers, and that is why Hamilton is just a hyppocrite.

    1. The drivers like the older tracks, yea so? Not sure what your point is.

      If you mean Hamilton’s recent comments, all he said was that some fans (“if even a single one of you”), don’t appreciate the dangers and risk drivers go through.

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