Hubert’s death still casts shadow of sorrow over Spa
FORMULA One resumes after its week off with the Belgian Grand Prix but Sunday’s race is being met with more muted anticipation than usual.
The legendary high-power circuit at Spa-francorchamps is usually a highlight of the F1 calendar but the death of F2 driver Anthoine Hubert a year ago casts a long shadow.
“The Spa-francorchamps circuit has a special place in my heart,” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said. “While it is here that I took my first win, it is also where we lost our friend Anthoine last year.
“It will be difficult to return to this track and he will be in our thoughts all weekend.”
France’s Hubert died after a horror crash out of the Eau Rouge turn while Juan Manuel Correa is still fighting to return to action after severe leg injuries suffered in the collision.
Leclerc and the rest of the grid wore black armbands for the race which provided the young Monegasque with his first victory ahead of Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
The atmosphere this weekend will not be any livelier with fans excluded amid the coronavirus pandemic which caused a reshuffling of the schedule. This will be the seventh race since the season started belatedly in Austria in early July.
Britain’s Hamilton has taken the chequered flag four times so far for a 37-point lead in the standings as he chases a record-equalling seventh world title. He has won three times previously on the Spa roller coaster 2010 with Mclaren, 2015 and 2017 for Mercedes.
In the last two seasons Ferrari took the victory – but no-one believes a “three-peat” is possible.
“In terms of expectations, it will be tougher for us in terms of performance this time around as we do not have the same level of competitiveness as we did in 2019,” said Leclerc.
“However, we have seen that anything can happen at this track, especially with the unpredictable weather.”
Sebastian Vettel, enduring a miserable farewell season in red, also seems to be pinning hopes on “usually changeable” weather rather than his own potential.
Before Sunday’s race, tomorrow’s qualifying will be the last to include the so-called ‘party mode’ engine boost which lets cars fly round the track at a rate unsustainable during the race.
Mercedes and their engine power have benefited more than most from this during the hybrid era, with 100 pole positions since 2014, but are bullish about the impending rule change.
“It’s not a surprise, they’re always trying to slow us down,” said Hamilton. “But I don’t think it’s going to get the result that they want.”
The combination of wearing tyres and high heat on track have been Mercedes’ biggest problem this season but modest temperatures are expected in Belgium.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull, second to Hamilton in the standings, will need all his creativity, skill and a large slice of luck if he is to challenge the Silver Arrows for victory.