Anthoine Hubert, Juan Manuel Correa Incident

[shoemaker]

Watched it live and it sent a shiver down me. Absolutely horrendous, then the eerie silence after it, you just knew the outcome. The most emotional, spectacular and beautiful of sports can be so cruel sometimes.

 

[Ryan Sandall]

From what I have seen, pieced together.

Alesi dropped it mid Eau Rouge and hit Hubert 2 places below him, Alesi's rear wing is gone before it has finished.
Hubert then hit the wall at the top and slid along.
Correa then goes wide and smashes into him.

Problem was mainly that the wall turns back towards the circuit at the end. and thus forced Hubert into the firing line.

Hi just want to help you and others piece it together further as I have seen a few angles of this and would like to help everyone that is trying to analyse it

Alesi spun and had a pretty big crash by himself he hit the wall at the top of Radillion,
Boccolachi directly behind him then checked up, moving over to the run off area, Hubert also went to the run off area behind him but hadn’t clocked how much he checked up and ran into the back (front wing to right rear of boc) sending him straight on I imagine with front wing under wheels, into the barrier on the right hand side

King was next he slowed and stayed on the track seeing the debris from alesis crash already sensing the danger as an veteran of this class

Correa seems to, From what I can work out hasn’t managed to scrub too much speed, but from every angle I’ve seen his car seems to be smoking in an odd way
Suggests maybe he was unfortunate passing through the rear wing debris from alesi which has caused damage which has affected his steering and braking hence why he was helpless in avoiding the collision with Hubert who had just rebounded a little away from the wall on the run off area

Unfortunately the impact is horrendous, similar to that of Paul Dana’s fatal accident in Indy car and Zanardi’s.

This part of the car is very strong for sure however it was hit by the part of the car that is the strongest the front crash structure so it caused major damage splitting the car in 2 (which it’s designed to do if such a force is put on it) but this angle has also intruded into the cockpit of Hubert

Correa’s feet are visible which once again shows the brutality of the impact, similar to Kubica in Canada

In regard to safety, it’s a blind crest, taken at high speed. Everything did it’s job considering the speeds involved just luck was not on their side.

Motorsport will always be dangerous, but thankfully now 99% of the time it is very safe.

 

[Liquid]

We cannot know for sure but I would be interested to know if a gravel trap would have slowed down Hubert's car more so that it wouldn't have bounced or rebounded so freely into oncoming traffic. Or slowed down other drivers who run wide.

Tarmac runoffs are not only bad for track limit infringments pushing drivers closer to an extreme but also offer ideal grip for any car whose wheels are gripping the ground, potentially out of control and into oncoming traffic.

I thought about some previous accidents there; Zanardi (1993) and Zonta (1999) both hit the inside left wall of Radillon so those are different accidents; apples and oranges, chalk and cheese. However, Villeneuve (1998 and 1999) went off and struck that same outside right wall over the crest. In one of them, the 1999 incident, his car rolled over after hitting the barrier but, crucially, in both incidents his car ended up and stayed close to the barriers and well away from the track.

A factor worth acknowledging in the interests of full disclosure is that both of Villeneuve's crashes occurred during qualifying with little to no presence from other cars. But given that the car stayed in the barriers, could you suggest that the gravel did a job in slowing the car down a bit and stopped it rebounding quite so quickly?

It's academic, of course. We're all throwing our thoughts in a thread which will stretch to 5+ pages as always happens when a notorious fatality occurs and we won't come to a common consensus on it neither. But that's my armchair analysis; I've always thought that grass and gravel still hold technical advantages that tarmac run-offs lack and not just aesthetic ones.

The main point though, a T-bone directly into the driver cell was always going to be a worst-case scenario no matter the circumstances leading up to it. Keith Odor died in a touring car accident being T-boned into the driverside door and that was at a far lower speed than 170mph.

Motor racing will always be a risk for the brave. RIP Anthoine.

 

[Grand Prix]

Something I touched upon in the unpopular motorsports opinions thread is that Eau Rouge could be made a bit safer by slowing it down. They could shift Radillon to the left a bit and tighten its radius. Make it a 4th or 5th gear corner that you need to brake for. This would slow down the exit speed at the top of the hill and make Eau Rouge a challenging S curve once again.

Motorsport shares a similar problem with golf in that newer technology makes the old challenging courses less difficult. A slower Eau Rouge would not only be safer but also introduce greater importance for weight transfer, grip management and braking skills, like it once used to.

Making it a slow hairpin like it was the 1930s would be a bit much I would say, there is a happy medium that can be found here.

 

[Ryan Sandall]

We cannot know for sure but I would be interested to know if a gravel trap would have slowed down Hubert's car more so that it wouldn't have bounced or rebounded so freely into oncoming traffic. Or slowed down other drivers who run wide.

Tarmac runoffs are not only bad for track limit infringments pushing drivers closer to an extreme but also offer ideal grip for any car whose wheels are gripping the ground, potentially out of control and into oncoming traffic.

I thought about some previous accidents there; Zanardi (1993) and Zonta (1999) both hit the inside left wall of Radillon so those are different accidents; apples and oranges, chalk and cheese. However, Villeneuve (1998 and 1999) went off and struck that same outside right wall over the crest. In one of them, the 1999 incident, his car rolled over after hitting the barrier but, crucially, in both incidents his car ended up and stayed close to the barriers and well away from the track.

A factor worth acknowledging in the interests of full disclosure is that both of Villeneuve's crashes occurred during qualifying with little to no presence from other cars. But given that the car stayed in the barriers, could you suggest that the gravel did a job in slowing the car down a bit and stopped it rebounding quite so quickly?

It's academic, of course. We're all throwing our thoughts in a thread which will stretch to 5+ pages as always happens when a notorious fatality occurs and we won't come to a common consensus on it neither. But that's my armchair analysis; I've always thought that grass and gravel still hold technical advantages that tarmac run-offs lack and not just aesthetic ones.

The main point though, a T-bone directly into the driver cell was always going to be a worst-case scenario no matter the circumstances leading up to it. Keith Odor died in a touring car accident being T-boned into the driverside door and that was at a far lower speed than 170mph.

Motor racing will always be a risk for the brave. RIP Anthoine.

A gravel would have had a positive affect on the crash but not for the reason of slowing cars down that end up on it, but limiting the area in which a driver wants to drive

For example if that was gravel more people would have lifted and slowed down heavily seeing alesi’s crash, rather than keep the speed up knowing there’s run off and extra room on the outside of the circuit

However gravel on both sides of the track there would have made that probably a messier accident but potentially a non fatal

As alesi would have brought a lot of gravel onto the circuit I would have thought, causing more drivers to slide and loose control, however they would have been going slower knowing there is a small area of track for them to take.

More of the cars that were right behind might have been involved because of the gravel

If every driver drove the same Hubert might have had less of a dead stop into the barrier as he went straight into the wall at a slightly more accrue angle than hamilton in practice
With gravel he might have been airborne when he hit the tyres causing a more glancing blow rather than wedging into them as much potentially

The thing that is dangerous about eau rouge is it’s blindness

All accidents are okay there with regards to run off typically, especially since there is no gravel, and they removed the jump from the inside

 

[LeGeNd-1]

First of all Rest in Peace Hubert. It's always painful to lose a racing driver. We all love racing and motorsports but times like these it feels it's all not worth it. For some reason this hit me a lot harder than Bianchi's death a few years ago. I just felt really weird all day yesterday upon reading the news in the morning.

This shows that even though motorsport has become really safe these days, we must never be complacent and always seek for ways to improve. Be it HANS, halo or SAFER barriers. No matter what happens to a car, there's no reason for anyone to die in a car. Drivers need also to remember to respect one another on track, and not just think of being first and risk driving recklessly. Motorsport is one big family and we will all pull through this like we always do but we mustn't forget the lessons we learned.

A gravel would have had a positive affect on the crash but not for the reason of slowing cars down that end up on it, but limiting the area in which a driver wants to drive

For example if that was gravel more people would have lifted and slowed down heavily seeing alesi’s crash, rather than keep the speed up knowing there’s run off and extra room on the outside of the circuit

I agree with this. I think asphalt runoff is technically safer but mentally it causes a lot more reckless attitude because drivers know they can get away with more. If this was Spa in the 60s with hedges lining the track, I bet you every driver will hit the brakes as soon as they see a puff of smoke at the top of Raidillon and not try to full throttle it across the runoff in hopes of avoiding the accident AND still keep their position.

I'm sure the FIA and all the relevant parties have a clearer data of what's going on, but from the analysis videos that I've seen (seems to have been deleted from this thread unfortunately), that's my first gut feeling.

 

[Ryan Sandall]

First of all Rest in Peace Hubert. It's always painful to lose a racing driver. We all love racing and motorsports but times like these it feels it's all not worth it. For some reason this hit me a lot harder than Bianchi's death a few years ago. I just felt really weird all day yesterday upon reading the news in the morning.

This shows that even though motorsport has become really safe these days, we must never be complacent and always seek for ways to improve. Be it HANS, halo or SAFER barriers. No matter what happens to a car, there's no reason for anyone to die in a car. Drivers need also to remember to respect one another on track, and not just think of being first and risk driving recklessly. Motorsport is one big family and we will all pull through this like we always do but we mustn't forget the lessons we learned.



I agree with this. I think asphalt runoff is technically safer but mentally it causes a lot more reckless attitude because drivers know they can get away with more. If this was Spa in the 60s with hedges lining the track, I bet you every driver will hit the brakes as soon as they see a puff of smoke at the top of Raidillon and not try to full throttle it across the runoff in hopes of avoiding the accident AND still keep their position.

I'm sure the FIA and all the relevant parties have a clearer data of what's going on, but from the analysis videos that I've seen (seems to have been deleted from this thread unfortunately), that's my first gut feeling.

It’s worth noting that Correa May have had limited ability to slow down and or change direction because of damage, if you see the video it looks like he is smoking,
I would imagine he has picked up or been damaged by the damage from Alesi’s car, maybe it has damaged his front wing to go under his wheels or broken his suspension

However This would definitely been less of a serious accident I think as you say if this was being treated as if we had, hedges, walls and even just gravel at the side of the track, as all involved would have slowed considerably more I think

As regards for how to improve the safety in such a violent side on impact, honestly I’m not sure it’s possible, the only thought I could think of is that the side crash structure must not only deform to reduce impact but have as much strength as possible to deflect the energy a different way so the car is not penetrated, but more like pushed and put into a spinning motion if you know what I mean?

 

[kikie]

Correa is doing fine. He is conscious but has to remain in intensive care for now.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Correa is doing fine. He is conscious but has to remain in intensive care for now.

Four hours surgery this morning (or last night), he'll be transferred to the US when it's safe to do so.

Something that I saw elsewhere from the crash: as Gelael arrives at the accident scene a piece of debris is bouncing on the track, it appears to be deflected by the halo. It's impossible to say what would have happened without the halo, but we all know why they're fitted.

Crappy ghosty screencap, the debris is just in front of the car at this point:

 

[Milouse]

Regarding Alesi, they said on Canal+ yesterday that he had a puncture in the Raidillon.
I saw the Alesi, father and son, on the F1 starting grid the next day, together talking with Damon Hill, but have yet to hear one of them speaking since the F2 accident.

 

[Carbon_6]

It was a decent race all round, and it was great to see Leclerc finally get a GP victory under his belt and hear his national anthem for the first time in the championship’s history (Louis Chiron was the last Monegasque to win a GP, way back in 1949 in France). But given the circumstances, it’s not surprising that he can’t seem to find any solace in victory, especially when you consider who he’s lost in the recent years.

There was a comment that stood out for me in the midst of the countless tributes for Hubert the day after the F1 race: “Hubert is not gone. He’s just one lap ahead of the rest of us…”

Condolences go out to his family and friends. Rest in peace Anthoine.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Four hours surgery this morning (or last night), he'll be transferred to the US when it's safe to do so.

Something that I saw elsewhere from the crash: as Gelael arrives at the accident scene a piece of debris is bouncing on the track, it appears to be deflected by the halo. It's impossible to say what would have happened without the halo, but we all know why they're fitted.

Crappy ghosty screencap, the debris is just in front of the car at this point:

View attachment 847749

Further to this, a better shot of Gelael's car after he returned to the pits. I think the halo genuinely prevented the injury of a third driver during Hubert's tragic accident.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Yeah, I think this accident finally gave us conclusive proof of the Halo's ability to save lives. It certainly stopped this crash from transforming from a fatal accident into a three-driver massacre. Correa likely had large amounts of engine bounce away from his head while the chunk that bounced away from Gelael certainly could have caused bad damage if it his the helmet in the wrong place.

 

[TenEightyOne]

A statement from Juan Manuel Correa's family:

First of all, on behalf of our son we wish to thank everyone within and outside the motorsports community for the wonderful and caring get well wishes that we have received, as well as messages for a speedy recovery. We are confident that Juan Manuel will review them all himself once he is back in charge of his social media accounts.

Honoring our son’s straight-to-the-point and honesty that characterizes him, we wish to update you on the status of his injuries and physical condition.

As time has progressed, new complications have surfaced as a consequence of the massive impact he suffered Saturday in Belgium. On his arrival to London, Juan Manuel was diagnosed with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. This is an injury considered common in high impact accidents such as this one. Unfortunately, this injury resulted in Juan Manuel falling into Acute Respiratory Failure. Juan Manuel is currently in an Intensive Care Unit that specializes in respiratory injuries. At this point of time he is an in induced state of unconsciousness and under ECMO support. Juan Manuel is in critical but stable condition.
We are confident that our son will surprise us like he always does with his tremendous fighting will and strength and will recover completely.
At this time, we kindly request that our privacy and space be respected. As a family, we need to pull together and be 100% there for Juan Manuel.
Maria and I wish to take this opportunity to give our condolences to the Hubert family for their loss. Our hearts are broken, and we can only imagine the pain this loss has brought them.

@Famine / mods, should Juan Manuel Correa's name be added to the thread title?

 

[TenEightyOne]

Correa's family note a mild improvement in his condition, but it seems he's still critically ill

 

[TenEightyOne]

A statement from Correa on the Formula1 website. It's good to see that his recovery is progressing well!

 

[Jimlaad43]

https://www.racefans.net/2020/02/07/fia-anothine-hubert-fatal-crash-report/

The FIA has released the report on Hubert's death. They have effectively concluded that it was a racing incident in which all drivers, marshals and doctors acted normally and that there was nothing really wrong. Hubert was given his fatal injuries after being T-Boned while effectively stationary and despite quick work from marshals and doctors, he wasn't going to survive it.

 

[PeterJB]

There's very little in there that hasn't been known since only a couple of days after the accident. I kinda assumed the investigation would be looking at the extent/causes of Hubert's fatal injuries.

 

[Dylan]