Death, with its noble inevitability, strikes hardest when it so suddenly silences youth in its prime.
Yesterday was a reminder that science and technology, for so long chaperones and guardians in our sport, cannot always protect.
When fate’s hand casts those guardians away, then death’s almost prosaic brutality becomes exposed.
And then everything stops, and the pantomime that are life’s joys and squabbles are bequeathed to mourning.
I met Anthoine Hubert on several occasions – firstly during his time in the FFSA backed Formula 4 championship in France and then again during his stint in the European F3 Championship in 2016 when he drove for van Amersfoort Racing.
Admittedly, there were times that I found him difficult to place. With little of the funds necessary to rise through the annals of motorsport, I did wonder just how far he could make it before reaching the ceiling.
His more recent connections with the Renault Sport Academy finally offered up the possibility and opportunity that he otherwise may well have missed and at the age of 22 and with reverse grid victories in the Monaco and France Formula 2 rounds, there were indications of the potential that lay beneath the surface.
There was still so much to unlock, but the possibilities…
Anthoine Hubert was affable, kindly and good natured. He loved motorsport and he loved racing. He will be greatly missed by his loved ones, friends and colleagues – my thoughts are with them all.
