French driver Anthoine Hubert has been killed in a Formula Two accident at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old died following a 160mph collision at the high-speed Spa-Francorchamps track.

 

Hubert raced for the British-owned Arden team, founded and run by Garry Horner, the father of Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

He lost control of his car on the exit of the notorious uphill Eau Rouge corner before slamming into the far-side barrier. The Frenchman flew off the tyre wall and slid across the circuit before he was hit head on by the unsuspecting American Juan-Manuel Correa.

The severity of the incident was instantly obvious. Debris littered the tarmac and the official TV feed cut away from the scene, while there were no replays of the accident.

Emergency crews rushed to one of motorsport’s most recognisable corners, but one hour and 28 minutes after the second-lap accident Hubert was pronounced dead at the on-track medical centre.

Correa was airlifted to Liege Hospital, 40 miles to the north west of the circuit in the Ardennes. It is understood that the American, 20, has broken his legs and was sedated at the scene. Giuliano Alesi, the son of former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi, was also involved but escaped without injury.

The Formula Two race, which acts as the feeder championship to Formula One, followed the conclusion of qualifying for the F1 grand prix which saw Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc secure pole position ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

A statement released by the sport’s governing body, the FIA, read: “The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) regrets to advise that a serious incident involving cars #12, #19 and #20 occurred at 17:07 on 31/08/19 as a part of the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race at Spa-Francorchamps, round 17 of the season.

“The scene was immediately attended by emergency and medical crews, and all drivers were taken to the medical centre.

“As a result of the incident, the FIA regrets to inform that the driver of car #19, Antoine Hubert (FRA), succumbed to his injuries, and passed away at 18:35.”

The fatal crash occurred less than an hour after Lewis Hamilton had qualified for Sunday’s race. Hamilton, who crashed out of final practice at 140mph at the Fagnes chicane on Saturday morning, is due to line up from third on the grid.

In an emotional post to social media, the five-time world champion highlighted the dangers of the sport.

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“This is devastating,” the 34-year-old wrote. “God rest your soul, Anthoine. My prayers and thoughts are with you and your family today.

“If a single one of you watching and enjoying this sport think for a second what we do is safe you are hugely mistaken.

“All these drivers put their lives on the line when they hit the track and people need to appreciate that in a serious way because it is not appreciated enough.

“Not from the fans, nor some of the people actually working in the sport. Anthoine is a hero as far as I’m concerned for taking the risk he did to chase his dreams. I’m so sad that this has happened. Let’s lift him up and remember him. Rest in peace, brother.”

A moment’s silence is set to take place ahead of Sunday’s race to honour a driver highly regarded in the motor racing world.