I haven’t been writing blog posts for very long and this is by far the most difficult one for me to write and I hope I will never have to start an article like this again. During the Formula 2 feature race on Saturday 31st August 2019, French driver, Anthoine Hubert, 22, lost his life as a result of a freak accident at Spa in Belgium.

I had the privilege to watch Anthoine compete in four races. In 2018 at Silverstone I watched as he won the Formula 3 feature race, before seeing him race in Formula 2 at Silverstone this season. He was a very talented driver and I believe he would have been in line for a Formula One race seat in 2021. I want this post to act as a tribute to Anthoine, and my thoughts are with his family and friends, along with Juan Manuel Correa, who is recovering in hospital after requiring surgery as a result of the same crash.

Although the weekend was over shadowed by the horrendous scenes from the previous day, the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix was a fitting tribute to Hubert. Charles Leclerc was on pole for the race, after setting a blistering lap time of 1:42.519, ahead of team-mate, Sebastian Vettel, who set a time of 1:43.267. The two Mercedes drivers qualified in third and fourth, with Hamilton edging out Bottas. Verstappen qualified in fifth ahead of ex-Red Bull team mate in sixth. Hulkenburg, Raikkonen, Perez and Magnussen rounded out the top 10. Grosjean, Norris, Stroll, Albon and Giovinazzi were knocked out in Q2, with Gasly, Sainz, Kvyat, Russell and Kubica all knocked out in the first part of qualifying.

There was a crazy amount of penalties that the drivers faced from taking new engines and parts of the car that exceeded the limit of parts the teams are allowed to use. The provisional grid was ever changing and the final grid only became clear about an hour before the race. Below is how the drivers lined up on the grid.

There was a chaotic start to the race, with Verstappen colliding with Raikkonen, almost flipping the car over. This forced six cars to take evasive action, as well as one of the Renault cars bouncing into the air. As the cars starting the ascent of Raidillon, Verstappen went into the barriers at Eau Rouge, before Vettel reclaimed second place from Hamilton at the end of the Kemmel straight, shortly before the safety car was deployed for the Verstappen incident. Just as the safety car lights went out, Sainz pulled into the side of the track with a loss of power.

The debut race in a Red Bull for Alex Albon got of to a great start, gaining multiple places on the opening lap, with a move on Magnussen on lap 15 to claim 11th place, a sign of things to come. Two laps later, Gasly, who swapped places with Albon, made a strong overtake on Perez, allowing him to prove a point to his former employees.

Lap 19 was a lap of reflection, with the grandstands on their feet, applauding the life of Anthoine Hubert. This was organised by the fans and it demonstrates how much respect the motorsport fans have for their heroes. This came after the fans stood and applauded the emergency services as they went to take up their spots around the track before racing got underway.

Lap 32 was when the battle for 1st place between Leclerc and Hamilton got underway. Hamilton overtook Vettel at the end of the Kemmel straight, a reverse of the move on the opening lap. With 12 laps to go the top 10 was; Leclerc, Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas, Norris, Perez, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Kvyat and Gasly.

Albon was gaining a position every few laps and looked on course for a strong points finish, and made his day even better making a stunning overtake on Ricciardo on lap 35, leaving him in eight place. The slip-stream was in full action in the race as was seen on lap 41. Grosjean was leading Hulkenburg down the Kemmel straight with the German closing in, eventually overtaking him. This was before the double toe that Stroll had, launched him into the battle, colliding with the HAAS car, but no damage was done.

The final few laps saw Lewis Hamilton close in on Leclerc, closing the cap by seconds a lap. Giovanazzi went into the barriers in sector two, bringing out the yellow flags, along with Lando Norris pulling in on the start/finish straight when he had a loss of power just like his team mate, after sitting in fifth place from the start of the race.

Leclerc crossed the line to win the Belgian Grand Prix, his first grand prix victory. Hamilton and Bottas made the podium, with Vettel, Albon, Perez, Kyvat, Hulkenburg, Gasly and Stroll rounding out the points. Albon ended in 5th place after a stunning overtake on Perez right at the end of the lap.

Leclerc had mixed emotions after winning his first grand-prix, delighted with the victory but saddened by the loss of a friend the day before. In his post-race interview Leclerc 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 a very difficult weekend since yesterday. “We have lost a friend first of all. I would like to dedicate this win to him.”

After a very difficult weekend for everyone involved in the motorsport community, the racing continues in Italy starting 6th September, with the lights out for the 2019 Italian Grand Prix at Monza taking place at 2:10pm UK time on Sunday 8th September.

The current top five in each World Championship standings are as follows:

Drivers: Hamilton (268 pts), Bottas (203 pts), Verstappen (181 pts), Vettel (169 pts) and Leclerc (157 pts)

Constructors: Mercedes (471 pts), Ferrari (326 pts), Red Bull (254 pts), McLaren (82 pts) and Toro Rosso (51 pts)

The fastest lap of the race was a time of 1:46.409 set by Ferrari driver, Sebastian Vettel, earning him an extra World Championship point.

I would like to again pay tribute to Anthoine Hubert, this grand prix was one that honoured him in the only way racing could, with the drivers going out onto the track, giving their all and putting on a show for the fans.