F2 Racing Spa
FIA statement on the Formula 2 crash at Spa. The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) regrets to advise that a serious incident involving cars number 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. Shwartzman streaks to victory in frenetic Spa F2 sprint. Behind, Mick Schumacher was on the move in the second Prema-run car, clearing Hitech drivers Nikita Mazepin and Luca Ghiotto in quick succession, before passing Louis Deletraz and Guanyu Zhou over the next two laps to put himself right behind second-placed Ticktum.
Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert has been killed in a crash during Saturday’s feature race at Spa-Francorchamps. He was 22.
The Frenchman crashed at Raidillon on the second lap of the race, hitting the barrier on the outside of the track after trying to avoid a slow car that had already spun. Hubert’s BWT Arden car then bounced back across the circuit and was hit at high speed by Juan Manuel Correa’s car.
Correa was sent airborne and came to rest upside down on the track. The race was instantly suspended and then cancelled as emergency services attended to the incident. Nearly 90 minutes after the accident, the FIA confirmed that Hubert had succumbed to his injuries.
Correa is in a stable condition and is being treated at the CHU Liege hospital in Belgium.
Hubert was the reigning GP3 champion, winning last year’s title with ART Grand Prix before stepping up to Formula 2 this year. As a rookie, he had won two sprint races this season, securing victories in Monaco and at his home event in France.
The 22-year-old from Lyon was part of the Renault Formula 1 team’s driver academy, and was given full backing for this year after holding affiliate status last season.
Having secured the French F4 Championship in his first season in single seaters back in 2013, Hubert progressed through Formula Renault 2.0 and European Formula 3 – winning races at each level – before reaching GP3 in 2017.
Hubert is the first driver to pass away as a result of injuries sustained at a Formula 1 event since Jules Bianchi, who crashed in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix and died in July 2015.
Hubert’s death prompted a flow of tributes from fellow drivers:
MEDIA RELEASE/FIA Formula 2 – Photo: FIA F2 website
The FIA Formula 2 Championship returns to Spa-Francorchamps refreshed and raring to go as the paddock returns to action for Round 9 following the summer break.
It’s hard to believe it’s been four weeks since the excitement of Budapest, where championship leader Nyck de Vries had looked set to dominate the weekend after going quickest in practice before delivering a masterclass of wet weather driving to stick his ART Grand Prix machine on pole during a rainy qualifying session. Title rival Nicholas Latifi was not prepared to settle for that in the Feature Race however, firing past De Vries through Turn 1 following a brilliant start and producing a measured drive to bag his first victory since Round 3. Reverse pole in the Sprint Race saw Mick Schumacher start from first, and the 20-year-old kept Nobuharu Matsushita at bay from lights to flag for his maiden F2 victory and a first podium finish for PREMA Racing this season.
De Vries (196 points) has seen his lead in the Drivers’ Championship cut slightly to 30 points over Latifi (166) in second place. Sérgio Sette Câmara (141) has reclaimed third place from Luca Ghiotto (135), with Jack Aitken (134) just one point behind in fifth. DAMS (307) top the Teams’ Championship, extending their lead over UNI-Virtuosi Racing (242) to 65 points. ART are 40 points further back in third, with Campos Racing (164) and Carlin (145) completing the top five.
Belgium’s Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps welcomes Round 9 of the championship, a favourite track of many drivers and fans alike. Pirelli’s medium and soft compound tyres are in use over the weekend, at a circuit known for its fast, challenging corners, and its often tricky conditions. Spa has seen plenty of dramatic action over the years, and the return of F2 promises even more!
Warm Up // Mick Schumacher – PREMA Racing
“I’m really looking forward to visiting Spa-Francorchamps. Having driven there a few times, including in a very special car in 2017, it’s a place where my family and I share a lot of emotion, and I’m thrilled and really happy to go back there.
“When I race I am really focused on what I am doing, but the lap I did with the ’94 Benetton was something very special. Seeing so many fans, you could feel the vibe and the people were enjoying what they were seeing. That was something I think only Spa can really give you. That emotion, that history. It’s one of the places where the driver can really transmit the feeling they have in the car to the crowd. It’s something very special.
“There’s a lot of elevation changes and you have a mix of corners. One of the trickiest corners is the double left at Pouhon. You arrive with a lot of speed, then the double-hander is very hard on the tyres, front and rear, so it’s going to be pretty challenging. It’s nearly flat-out, so if you manage to do it flat that’s pretty good!
“I’m curious to see how tyre degradation is going to play a part; how much we have to save tyres and whether it will be difficult to keep the tyres alive, but I think for me in my rookie year that’s been the same at every track up to now. I’m very interested in seeing how the tyres are handling and developing through a race. Spa is also one of those tracks where it rains most often, so that’s another factor we might need to consider. We just need some luck on our side and then maybe things go the right way.”
Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of F1 and Car Racing
“Spa is an epic circuit that always provides a massive thrill for the drivers as well as a big test for the tyres, due to the multiple forces acting on them. Overtaking is definitely possible, so we’re looking forward to some very close racing and exciting battles in Formula 2, as has already been the case very often this year. But Spa is a circuit that punishes mistakes harshly as well, so the safety car could be a factor influencing strategy too – not to mention the famously variable Belgian weather.”
Season Stats
30The points gap at the top of the standings between Drivers’ Championship leader Nyck de Vries (196 points) and second-placed Nicholas Latifi (166).
9Latifi is on the longest current run of point-scoring races, having scored points in every race since Monaco’s Sprint Race.
7De Vries has secured at least one podium finish in seven out of the first eight rounds of the season, only missing out in Bahrain’s opening round.
4Carlin’s Nobuharu Matsushita has more Fastest Laps than any other driver this season. De Vries and Sérgio Sette Câmara both have three.
Noteworthy
The F2 race lap record at Spa is 1:59.965, set by Jordan King with MP Motorsport in 2017.
If Nyck De Vries wins this weekend in Belgium he will match Artem Markelov for the record highest number of wins in the modern era of FIA Formula 2. A win in both races would see the Dutchman surpass the Russian. Nicholas Latifi would need two wins to match Markelov’s win record, courtesy of the Canadian’s win last time out in Hungary.
De Vries took his first pole position in Spa-Francorchamps last season. Sette Câmara also took his first F2 win here in 2017, winning the Sprint Race with MP Motorsport.
Only three drivers on the current grid have won at Spa before. Incidentally, all three of them are currently the top three in the championship standings (De Vries, Latifi and Sette Câmara).
F2 Racing Spa
Mick Schumacher became the 18th different winner in the modern era of FIA Formula 2 after his Sprint Race win in Hungary.
Japanese driver Marino Sato will replace Arjun Maini at Campos Racing in Spa. The 20-year-old tested for BWT Arden and Campos in 2018, and currently leads the Euroformula Open Championship.
DAMS (307 points) have a 65 point lead at the top of the Teams’ Championship, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi Racing (242).
F2 Race Spa 2019
Leading rookie Guanyu Zhou’s P9 finish in the Sprint Race in Hungary brought an 11-race point scoring streak to an end. That run included four third-place finishes.
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