F2 driver on late Hubert: 'I carry the torch for both of us'

In 2023, Juan Manuel Correa will return to the Formula 2 grid as a driver for Van Amersfoort Racing. The 23-year-old was involved in the crash at Spa-Francorchamps in 2019 - which took the life of fellow driver Anthoine Hubert - and has been rehabilitating over the past few years. He explained to The Race how he is coping with the loss of Hubert.

The blow of Hubert's death was huge in the motorsport world. Today's single-seaters are known to be immensely safe, but there is still a huge amount of danger. The world stood still for a moment when news arrived that Hubert had died. There was uncertainty about the Ecuadorian-American driver at the time. He was seriously injured, but will climb back into an F2 car because of his years of perseverance. “I feel like I kind of carry the torch for both of us now, because he would have definitely been one of the guys that would, he would probably have been in F1 by now. I really believe that,” Correa said.

'I don't want any sympathy'

Correa will probably always be associated with Hubert, but also hopes people understand that he does not want to take advantage of this. “I also don’t like making my career about the accident, because I don’t want people to think that I’m trying to get sympathy, right? I’m just another driver and there’s nothing special about me.”