Gasly looks back on a terrible 2019
In a moving letter published on The Players' Tribune website, Pierre Gasly opens up about the death of his friend Anthoine Hubert in 2019. He explains the impact of this tragedy on his life and also on his F1 career.
These are images that are unforgettable. Those of a car racing accident that costs the life of a young driver and ends his dreams. On August 31, 2019, as the Formula 2 single-seaters had just started the second lap on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Juan Manuel Correa crashes head-on into Anthoine Hubert. The 22-year-old driver from Lyon dies instantly.
A few meters away, in the paddock and on a television, his childhood friend Pierre Gasly is witnessing the scene. He doesn’t know who is involved in the crash. “I asked our team manager to tell me as soon as possible who was involved,” explains Pierre Gasly in a long letter for The Players’ Tribune, titled “You Want to Know the Real Pierre?”
The terrible story of the disappearance of Anthoine Hubert, his friend.
At 25, the AlphaTauri driver is getting ready to start his fourth season in Formula 1, and he wanted to look back on the day when his former life ended and a new one began. In this text, Pierre Gasly looks back and remembers that fateful August 31, 2019. The moment when he feels that a tragedy has occurred, the one where he understands – upon seeing his parents and his girlfriend – that Anthoine Hubert’s fate is sealed, or even the description of his immeasurable sorrow.
Unfiltered and openly, he remembers the strong relationship between these two dreamers, eternal optimists but also hard workers, guided by the Formula 1 goal. A strong friendly relationship, a brotherly bond that pushed the two friends to push their limits to reach the top.
If Pierre Gasly realized his dream in 2017 by joining Toro Rosso, Anthoine Hubert, on the other hand, was biding his time and patiently waiting for his moment of glory. It seemed to be approaching and the Lyonnais was starting to make a strong impact in Formula 1, but the story came to an abrupt end.
The winner of the 2020 Italian Grand Prix recounts: “I wasn’t prepared for this. Honestly, I thought Anthoine might be in a coma or something like that. But dead? Dead? I never thought that could be possible. When Jules Bianchi died in a crash in 2015… it was the first time in a long time that someone from our generation of drivers, all levels combined, died. It used to happen a lot 40 or 50 years ago, but now? No. No.”
« I was not prepared for this. Honestly, I imagined that Anthoine could be in a coma or something like that. But dead? Dead? I never thought that could be possible. »
A painful second episode for Gasly after his demotion from Red Bull to Toro Rosso.
The tipping point of September 6, 2020
On August 12, 2019, a little less than three weeks before Anthoine Hubert’s accident, Gasly officially learns that he must swap seats with Alex Albon. The Normand leaves the Milton Keynes team and returns to Faenza at Toro Rosso.
The peak of a frustrating half-season, which Gasly revisits in his open letter:
« It was difficult for me at Red Bull because I didn’t feel like I was truly supported and treated the same way as others. And for me … it’s something I just can’t accept. »
At Red Bull, I didn’t feel like I was truly supported and treated the same way as others.
Instead of moping, the French will manage to take something positive from this year.
Black. If his friend met his death on a racetrack and didn’t have time to get a seat in Formula 1, he did it. And after returning to the Belgian circuit, one year later, still heavy-hearted, the AlphaTauri driver opens his eyes.
On September 6, 2020, one week after returning to the scene of the tragedy, Pierre Gasly sips his coffee at home before heading to Monza. « I was like, “Oh man, my life is really beautiful! At that moment, I just felt grateful, you know? I had made it – we had made it. I was a Formula 1 driver. And five hours later, I was going to be at the start of the Italian Grand Prix. »
Before Monza:
At that time, I just felt grateful you see? I was a Formula 1 driver. And five hours later, I would be starting the Italian Grand Prix.
The rest, we know it. A perfect race, ideal conditions, and the planets aligning for the Norman to win his first victory in Formula 1 at Monza. A great nod to Red Bull who abandoned him. But above all, a fantastic tribute to Anthoine Hubert that Pierre Gasly will try to make this season, at the wheel of his AlphaTauri.
— PIERRE GASLY ???????? (@PierreGASLY) March 22, 2021
