Vettel: Bianchi, Hubert deaths a wake-up call to motorsport

Sebastian Vettel says the tragic passing of Anthoine Hubert at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend must act as a sign to all motorsport to continue pushing for safety improvements in all areas regardless of being considered “too safe and boring” compared to previous eras of racing.

F1 and the wider motorsport community is still mourning the death of Hubert who succumbed to his injuries sustained in a crash on Lap 2 of the Formula 2 Feature Race a Spa-Francorchamps. Juan Manuel Correa also sustained serious injuries in the accident including two leg fractures and is in specialist care.

The FIA is currently carrying out an in-depth investigation into the crash in order to establish the key incidents plus what can be improved in the future to avoid similar outcomes.

Following Hubert’s passing and Jules Bianchi’s death in July 2015, having lost his life due to injuries he sustained in a crash during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, Vettel says the FIA and everyone involved in motorsport must learn from past mistakes in order to continue to push for better safety standards.

“As far as I understand there were a chain of situations that led to [Hubert’s] accident,” Vettel said. “To some extent it is part of motorsport, it is dangerous, and it is part of the thrill but certainly the last years have been a wake-up with the passing of Jules and now Anthoine.

“So it shows there are still some things, even if some people think it is too safe and boring, I think we can do better and must improve and must work on it. I’d rather have boring Formula 1 world championships to the end of ever and bring him back. I think there is no question about that.

“What happened couldn’t have been worse and I think it will be examined in a very detailed way which I think is correct and what everyone expects but to draw any conclusions now is not right. I think we need a full picture and there are a lot of elements to it.”

Once the FIA completes its investigation into the F2 crash at Spa, Vettel has also called for any action necessary to be taken to improve safety at the iconic Belgian circuit which he wants to remain on the F1 race calendar in the future.

“I am a fan of holding races at Spa as it is a great track and has great history, a lot of the corners are unique, but after what happened we need to have a very close look and take time to understand exactly what happened before drawing any conclusions,” he said.