Anthoine Hubert’s tragic death means ‘I cannot fully enjoy my first victory,’ says F1 star Charles Leclerc
CHARLES LECLERC dedicated his maiden Formula One victory to his friend, Anthoine Hubert, who died here at Spa the previous day. The Ferrari man climbed out of his cockpit and pointed to the sky in tribute following his emotional victory in the Belgian Grand Prix. Leclerc, 21, was pals with Frenchman Hubert, who was killed […]
CHARLES LECLERC dedicated his maiden Formula One victory to his friend, Anthoine Hubert, who died here at Spa the previous day.
The Ferrari man climbed out of his cockpit and pointed to the sky in tribute following his emotional victory in the Belgian Grand Prix.
Leclerc, 21, was pals with Frenchman Hubert, who was killed during Saturday’s Formula 2 race, which took place just minutes after the F1 star had taken pole.
Leclerc was a worthy winner and choked back the tears earlier in the day as he hugged Hubert’s mum on the grid ahead of a one-minute silence before the F3 race.
He was visibly distraught and needed consoling from his Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto.
On the drivers’ parade lap, he was subdued and refused to look at the point on the track where his friend had lost his life the previous day.
And following his wonderful win, as he beat Lewis Hamilton, who was second, he was quick to pay tribute to his fallen friend.
He said: “On the one hand, I have a dream since I was a child that has been realised, and on the other hand, it has been very difficult.
“We have lost a friend first of all, and it’s very difficult in these situations so I would like to dedicate this win to him.
“We have grown up together and my first ever race I did when I was seven with Anthoine, so it’s such a shame what happened.
“I can’t fully enjoy my first victory but it is a memory that will live with me forever.”
He later recalled racing with Hubert, who on Saturday before his fatal accident had been offered a new deal to race in Formula 2 for 2020.
Leclerc picked out when they both raced go-karts with fellow F1 drivers, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.
He added: “Losing Anthoine brings me back to 2005, my first ever French championship, there was him, Esteban, Pierre and myself.
“We were four kids who were dreaming of Formula One. We grew up in karting for many, many years, and to lose him was a big shock for me and for everyone in motorsport.”
Leclerc was also friends with Jules Bianchi, who died in 2015 as a result of the injuries he suffered at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix and is made of strong stuff.
In 2017 he raced in Baku the day after his father had died and incredibly he won the GP2 race.
He was brilliant at Spa, leading from lap one and held off a late challenge from Hamilton and once again beat his Ferrari teammate, Sebastian Vettel, who was fourth.
Hamilton’s second-place finish means he extended his lead over Bottas in the championship to 65 points.
And he was full of praise for the way Leclerc has out-performed Vettel this season in his debut year for Ferrari.
Hamilton said: “I gave it absolutely everything. It was a difficult race today and I think the Ferraris were just too fast on the straights and it was very hard to keep up with them.
“Forty-four is normally my lucky number but maybe we needed a few more laps today.
“Congratulations to Charles, it’s his first win and it’s been coming all year so I’m really happy for him.
“It is not easy for any driver to jump into a top team, let alone Ferrari, and against a four-time world champion.
“To continuously from race on outperform, out-qualify and out-drive a four-time world champion is not easy to do.
“I think that speaks for itself. He’s been really unlucky in some races this year. This could easily have been his third win. It was fun today, trying to chase him, but he was just a little bit too quick.”
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Meanwhile, London-born racer Alex Albon impressed on his debut for Red Bull having been promoted from Toro Rosso over the summer break.
Albon, who started down in 18th due to engine penalties, finished fifth after an impressive drive.
There were crashes for Max Verstappen and Antonio Giovinazzi while McLaren duo Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris were forced to retire with mechanical problems, with Norris’s failure happening on the final lap.