AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly pays tribute to his friend Anthoine Hubert who tragically passed away during the Belgian Grand Prix in 2019
Pierre Gasly and Anthonie Hubert were childhood friends in France who were talented yet worked very hard for their Formula One dream.
They were a few of the drivers of the next French Generation. Anthoine Hubert won the 2018 GP3 championship and was Renault’s upcoming star.
However, a fatal crash during the 2019 F2 Belgian Grand Prix took away an upcoming talent from the motorsports world. The F1 world still remembers Hubert in the best way possible.
Pierre Gasly and Anthoine Hubert’s F1 dream
Pierre Gasly opened up about his childhood memories with Anthoine Hubert calling him the ‘boy in the orange helmet’. Hubert became karting in 2004 while Gasly in 2005.
Both of these drivers had to attend a French racing federation school program in Le Mans in 2009. This was essential for the children who missed schooling due to karting.
The AlphaTauri driver looked up to Michael Schumacher in order to gain motivation to fight for his dreams. The only challenge he had was Hubert who was a talented driver.
Speaking about Hubert, he added: “He was strict with himself, even at a young age, and I learned a lot of self-discipline from him. After we had been at school for a few years, we were spending most of our time together. We’d push each other to be better.”
#AH19 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/sOs8lNUaWb
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 26, 2021
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No one believed in the two French Drivers during their karting days
The Frenchman recalls that no one believed in their dreams of making it to Formula One. The people around them had the perception that none of the French boys will make it to F1.
Gasly used to get the following taunts from people around: “There are 20 seats in F1. Why are you two boys going to make it? You don’t have the talent. The odds are impossible.”
Both the French drivers did not have the financial backing or resources of making it to F1. However, they had a similar dream which took their friendship to a new height.
Pierre Gasly always pays tribute to Anthoine Hubert by placing a bouquet trackside at Spa ❤️💐 pic.twitter.com/ItKyFstwLJ
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) August 26, 2022
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