Hamilton urges fans to appreciate risks after death of 'hero' Hubert

Lewis Hamilton says a number of fans and people associated with motor racing do not appreciate the risks involved in the sport, following the death of Formula 2 racer Anthoine Hubert.

Hubert was killed in a crash on the second lap of the F2 feature race at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday evening after a high-speed collision with Juan Manuel Correa. While Correa is in a stable condition in hospital, Hubert became the first driver to be killed as the result of an incident at a Formula 1 event since Jules Bianchi died in July 2015, nine months after his crash in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

Hamilton took to Instagram to post his thoughts following Hubert’s death, accompanying his message with a number of images of the 22-year-old Frenchman.

“This is devastating,” Hamilton wrote. “God rest your sole 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’re hugely mistaken. All these drivers put their life on the line when they hit the track and people need to appreciate that in a serious way because it’s 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.”