Pierre Gasly led a lap run around Spa-Francorchamps ahead of the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix, in honor of Anthoine Hubert and Dilano van ‘t Hoff, the young Dutch driver who passed away a few weeks ago on the same track.
The Frenchman has planned a special ‘Run for Anthoine’ event on Thursday night in memory of his friend Anthione Hubert, who was killed in a fatal crash at the track during a 2019 F2 race.
The event will also honor Dilano van ‘t Hoff, the 18-year-old FRECA driver who died in a crash on the Kemmel Straight earlier this month, and is open to all F1, F2, and F3 paddock staff members.
Anthoine Hubert tragically passed away following a crash during the 2019 Belgian F1 Grand Prix weekend at the Spa-Francorchamps track. He was racing for the British team Arden in the Formula 2 race the day before the F1 grand prix when he was tragically killed.
On the second lap of the F2 race at the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps track, driver Giuliano Alesi had already crashed at the Radillon bend after suffering a punctured tyre.
A few cars slowed down behind Alesi but Hubert was blindsided and struck one of them. Juan Manuel Correa, driving towards the area surrounding Hubert’s cockpit at about 130-160 mph, struck him after he hit the barrier.
The crash totaled Hubert and Correa’s cars. Hubert was pronounced dead at 18:35 regardless of the fact that both drivers were quickly transferred to the circuit’s medical facility. Correa sustained a spinal injury in addition to two shattered legs. Alesi escaped the incident unhurt.
Pierre Gasly has acknowledged that he experienced “contradictory” emotions during the Belgian Grand Prix. Since the incident, safety concerns have risen and upon his return to Spa-Francorchamps, the Alpine driver acknowledged his fears.
“I’m someone that is emotional,” Gasly admitted. “I think I link places with emotions, and I’ve had the worst emotions of my life here but at the same time, it’s one of my favourite tracks, so it’s very contradictory.
“I love this track, and I love racing this track, but at the same time, I’ll never forget what I felt going down these stairs [in the paddock] when my parents told me the news.
“It’s obviously tough, but I accept the sport that we do, and it’s things you have got to live with. It’s also life, as sad as it can be.”
“It might be small things for people, but it’s a lot bigger for me, and a lot more meaningful,” Gasly added. “It was a conversation which started early in the season.
“Everybody knows how close I was with Anthoine and I think they all know also how close he was with the team.
“This was organised well before the tragic incident which happened a couple of weeks ago, but I just think it’s great that we all as a community when these things happen, everyone that is a part of Formula 1, whether it’s F2 or F3, the racing family comes together.”
