‘I have lost a friend’ Leclerc dedicates debut win to tragic driver Hubert
Tragedy overshadows Ferrari driver’s win Hamilton in second to increase lead over Bottas
Wearing a black armband as he stood on the top step of a Formula One podium for the first time, Charles Leclerc pointed to the sky to acknowledge Anthoine Hubert, the young French driver killed at Spa-francorchamps.
There was no customary champagne spraying. The motor racing world was in mourning.
“On one hand a childhood dream has been realised,” said Leclerc. “On the other hand it has been a very difficult weekend. I have lost a friend. I would like to dedicate my first win to him.”
Two hours earlier, Leclerc had stood shoulder to shoulder with the sport’s grief-ridden community for an emotional one-minute silence in honour of his contemporary.
Hubert, 22, died at 6.35pm on Saturday evening following a 160mph Formula Two crash at the fearsome Eau Rouge corner.
He was the first driver fatality at a Formula One race weekend since Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger were killed at Imola in 1994.
Hubert’s distraught mother, Nathalie, took centre stage on the grid. Dressed in a green jumper, blue jeans, and hiding her eyes behind sunglasses, she was at the scene of her son’s death after making the five-hour car journey from her home outside Paris to Belgium.
She held her son’s pink and white crash helmet. Hubert’s brother, Victhor, who was trackside with father, Francois, as Saturday’s tragedy unfolded, cried as he stood alongside her.
Formula One drivers, team bosses and dignitaries formed an arc around the grieving mother and son as silence fell over the Ardennes forest.
Daniel Ricciardo, the usually jovial Australian, kept his eyes closed throughout the reflective pause, before appearing to wipe away tears – his actions summing up the sombre mood here before yesterday’s race.
Leclerc, who is 22 next month, hugged Hubert’s mother. Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto then put an arm around his young star.
Speaking prior to the race, Binotto said: “It is not easy for Charles. He knew Hubert very well, but he also knows a win is the best way to keep his head up.”
Leclerc did just that. He made the perfect start, racing away from pole position. Leclerc briefly traded places with Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel, owing to different
tyre strategies, but once the fourtime world champion was ordered aside, the Monegasque’s win rarely looked in doubt – even though Lewis Hamilton ran him close.
Hamilton finished a second behind Leclerc to extend his title lead over Valtteri Bottas, who took third, to 65 points.
Leclerc led as the tens of thousands of spectators at the 4.3mile track rose to their feet to for a round of heartfelt applause on lap 19. Hubert carried the number 19 on his car.
“We grew up together,” said Leclerc as he reflected on their friendship. “Losing Anthoine takes me back to 2005 and my first French championship.
“There was him, Esteban [Ocon, the Mercedes reserve driver], Pierre [Gasly, the Toro Rosso driver] and myself. We were four kids dreaming of getting to Formula One.
“We have grown up in karting together, so to lose him is a big shock for me, and everyone in the sport.
“It is obviously quite challenging to close the visor and go through the exact corner [where he died] at the same speed as I did the day before. It is difficult to enjoy this victory, but hopefully in two or three weeks I will realise what happened.”
Following Leclerc’s faultless start, Max Verstappen tagged Kimi Raikkonen. The force of the impact sent Raikkonen temporarily on to two wheels. Verstappen sustained damage to his Red Bull and slammed into the barriers at the top of Eau Rouge. The sport held its breath but, mercifully, Verstappen walked away unscathed.
Leclerc’s victory at his 34th attempt ensures he becomes the third-youngest winning driver in the sport’s history after Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. It also ends Ferrari’s winless run this year. Vettel finished fourth after a twostop tyre strategy backfired.
“It is not easy for any driver to jump into a top team, let alone Ferrari, and continually outperform, out-qualify and out-drive a four-time world champion,” said Hamilton of the sport’s latest race winner.
“But Charles’s results speak for themselves. There is a lot more greatness to come from him and I am looking forward to racing alongside him in the future.”