A Fallen Star: Remembering Anthoine Hubert ahead of Belgian GP
- therookiereporters
- Jul 21
- 4 min read
Summary: As Formula One heads back to Spa-Francorchamps for the 2025 Belgian GP, we remember Anthoine Hubert. The promising talent died following a tragic crash during the Formula 2 race at Spa-Francorchamps in 2019.
As Formula One is getting ready to race at Spa-Francorchamps for the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix, we pause to remember Anthoine Hubert — a rising talent whose life and career were cut short at Spa Francorchamps in 2019.
On August 31, 2019, tragedy struck during the F2 Feature Race at Spa-Francorchamps.
On the second lap of the race, Giuliano Alesi’s car crashed at the Raidillon curve due to a punctured tyre. His teammate, Ralph Boschung, managed to slow down and avoid the incident, but Hubert was not as fortunate.
He clipped the end of Boschung’s car and went off track, colliding with the barriers. Hubert was then struck by Juan Manual Correa, who lost control of his car after hitting debris from Alesi’s car. The force of the collision tore both cars apart.
Both Hubert and Correa were immediately transported to the circuit’s medical centre. Hubert was pronounced dead approximately 90 minutes after the crash took place.
Rise through the ranks
Born in Lyon on September 22, 1996, Anthoine Hubert was introduced to motorsports by his father François who competed in rallies in France. Anthoine inevitably stepped into karting, finishing third in 2011 and 2012 in the CIK-FIA U18 world championships.
In 2013, Hubert moved up to single-seater racing. It was an instant success as he claimed 11 wins in 21 races. Hubert won the championship title in his first year of the French Formula 4 Championship.
The following year, Hubert would compete in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 with Tech 1 Racing. That season proved to be a difficult one as he only finished 15th. But, the following year he finished the season in fifth place with victories at Silverstone and Le Mans.
A step up to Formula 3 with Van Amersfoort was promising. He claimed his first F3 victory in the second race at Norisring, and ended the season in eighth place.
In 2017, Hubert switched to the GP3 Series and now found himself racing for ART Grand Prix. After a strong rookie season, where he finished fourth, his breakthrough came in 2018.
Hubert claimed two victories, along with 9 more podiums, and he scored points in all but four races. This success saw him bring home the GP3 series title.
In May 2018, Hubert became an affiliated driver with the Renault Sport Academy. It was due to the Academy’s backing that he could step up to the FIA Formula 2 Championship with BWT Arden in 2019.
Hubert claimed two race wins in the first half of his rookie season; Monaco and on home soil at Paul Ricard. He found himself in seventh place in the standings before the round at Spa-Francorchamps.
There was a strong possibility Hubert would eventually join Formula One. Sadly, we will never know if that dream would have come true.
Paying tribute
Many teams and drivers paid tribute to Anthoine with a minute’s silence ahead of the Formula 3 and Formula 1 race at Spa-Francorchamps.
On lap 19 of the Formula One race, fans rose to their feet for a standing ovation in memory of Anthoine Hubert, who raced with number 19 in Formula 2.
It was Charles Leclerc who claimed his first-ever Formula 1 victory at Spa-Francorchamps. He dedicated his first win to his friend Anthoine.
“On one hand… [it is] a dream since being a child that has been realized,” Leclerc said during his post-race interview. “On the other hand, it has been a very difficult weekend since yesterday. We have lost a friend first of all. It’s very difficult in these situations so I would like to dedicate my first win to him.”
Pierre Gasly returns to the site of the accident each year to pay tribute to his close friend Anthoine Hubert.
Since 2023, Gasly has also organized the annual “Run for Anthoine” during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. It is a paddock wide, open invite to all F1, F2 and F3 personnel to take on a lap around the circuit.
Anthoine Hubert Award
At the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship prize-giving ceremony in Monaco, the Anthoine Hubert Award was introduced. It is named after Hubert who was the only rookie in his season to score two race wins.
“We wanted to honour him and ensure that he is remembered fondly in every season to come,” stated FIA Formula 2 CEO Bruno Michel. “As such, we have decided to give this award named after Anthoine to the best rookie of the season, a title which I’m convinced he could have fought for by this year’s end.”
At the 2019 prize-giving ceremony, the award was presented by Anthoine’s brother, Victhor, to the best rookie of that season, Guanyu Zhou.
Ahead of Formula 2’s return to Spa-Francorchamps in 2020, the series confirmed that the number 19 would no longer be used in the championship.
“19 will forever be Anthoine’s, in memory of the late Frenchman, whose star still shines brightly over our paddock,” the statement from Formula 2 reads.
Article Written by Jana Van Nieuwenborgh
