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Charles Leclerc fastest in Belgian GP practice
By Andrew Benson
Listen to final practice and qualifying on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra from 11:00 BST on Saturday
Charles Leclerc set an eye-opening lap to head a Ferrari one-two in second practice at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The 21-year-old was 0.630 seconds quicker than team-mate Sebastian Vettel - and a massive 0.846secs ahead of the fastest Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas.
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton was fourth, 0.046secs behind his team-mate, but only Leclerc of the drivers in the top teams seemed to manage a clean lap.
Alex Albon was down in 10th, with Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen sixth.
Vettel, Hamilton and Verstappen all made errors at the final chicane on their laps. Albon's lap looked uncomfortable and while Leclerc also went into the Bus Stop chicane a little deep, he lost less time than the other top drivers.
The cars were showing wildly different performance profiles.
Ferrari were blisteringly quick on the straights, with Leclerc 0.8secs quicker than the Mercedes in the first sector, which includes the flat-out drag from La Source hairpin to the Les Combes chicane, and 0.2secs up in the final sector, including the run through Blanchimont.
But Mercedes were nearly 0.4secs quicker than Ferrari in the middle section, which includes the vast majority of the corners at Spa-Francorchamps.
However, Mercedes clearly have more pace to find, as Bottas and Hamilton were only 0.1secs quicker than the Racing Point of Sergio Perez in fifth place.
And on the race-simulation runs later in the session, Mercedes appeared to have a significant advantage not only on absolute pace, but also on tyre degradation, which was much more pronounced on the Ferrari.
Terminator: Lance Stroll's Racing Point lost a section of bodywork down the Kemmel Straight in first practice
Ferrari were more competitive on the medium tyre, on which Verstappen's Red Bull appeared quickest, and that may influence their decision as to how to run their qualifying strategy and therefore on which tyre to start the race.
Perez's strong session ended in sadness, when he pulled off with what looked like an engine problem. He appeared very unhappy as he climbed out of the car - and may be fearing a grid penalty.
Behind Verstappen in sixth, Kimi Raikkonen's Alfa Romeo was seventh, ahead of Lance Stroll's Racing Point, Daniel Ricciardo's Renault and Albon.
There are a number of grid penalties caused by excessive engine changes already confirmed, largely as a result of upgraded engines being introduced by all manufacturers apart from Ferrari.
Albon, Stroll and Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat will start from the back and Ricciardo, his Renault team-mate Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren's Carlos Sainz have five-place penalties.
Verstappen is wearing a bright orange helmet design at Spa
Ferrari topped both practice sessions
Swami
By Andrew Benson
Listen to final practice and qualifying on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra from 11:00 BST on Saturday
Charles Leclerc set an eye-opening lap to head a Ferrari one-two in second practice at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The 21-year-old was 0.630 seconds quicker than team-mate Sebastian Vettel - and a massive 0.846secs ahead of the fastest Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas.
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton was fourth, 0.046secs behind his team-mate, but only Leclerc of the drivers in the top teams seemed to manage a clean lap.
Alex Albon was down in 10th, with Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen sixth.
- Belgian Grand Prix second practice results
- 'An attacking style, lovely fluidity & still lives with his mum'
Vettel, Hamilton and Verstappen all made errors at the final chicane on their laps. Albon's lap looked uncomfortable and while Leclerc also went into the Bus Stop chicane a little deep, he lost less time than the other top drivers.
The cars were showing wildly different performance profiles.
Ferrari were blisteringly quick on the straights, with Leclerc 0.8secs quicker than the Mercedes in the first sector, which includes the flat-out drag from La Source hairpin to the Les Combes chicane, and 0.2secs up in the final sector, including the run through Blanchimont.
But Mercedes were nearly 0.4secs quicker than Ferrari in the middle section, which includes the vast majority of the corners at Spa-Francorchamps.
However, Mercedes clearly have more pace to find, as Bottas and Hamilton were only 0.1secs quicker than the Racing Point of Sergio Perez in fifth place.
And on the race-simulation runs later in the session, Mercedes appeared to have a significant advantage not only on absolute pace, but also on tyre degradation, which was much more pronounced on the Ferrari.
Terminator: Lance Stroll's Racing Point lost a section of bodywork down the Kemmel Straight in first practice
Ferrari were more competitive on the medium tyre, on which Verstappen's Red Bull appeared quickest, and that may influence their decision as to how to run their qualifying strategy and therefore on which tyre to start the race.
Perez's strong session ended in sadness, when he pulled off with what looked like an engine problem. He appeared very unhappy as he climbed out of the car - and may be fearing a grid penalty.
Behind Verstappen in sixth, Kimi Raikkonen's Alfa Romeo was seventh, ahead of Lance Stroll's Racing Point, Daniel Ricciardo's Renault and Albon.
There are a number of grid penalties caused by excessive engine changes already confirmed, largely as a result of upgraded engines being introduced by all manufacturers apart from Ferrari.
Albon, Stroll and Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat will start from the back and Ricciardo, his Renault team-mate Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren's Carlos Sainz have five-place penalties.
Verstappen is wearing a bright orange helmet design at Spa
Ferrari topped both practice sessions
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Swami
Telly Talk Supreme
Belgian Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc on pole ahead of Sebastian Vettel
Charles Leclerc set a scintillating lap to beat Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel to pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The 21-year-old, still seeking a first career win, was a massive 0.748 seconds clear of his four-time world champion team-mate.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton was second quickest after the first runs but was pipped by Vettel on their last laps after the world champion failed to improve.
Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas was fourth ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Hamilton crashed in final practice, leaving Mercedes mechanics without a lunchbreak
The traffic in Belgium is terrible
Vettel grumbled about "traffic", saying: "What a mess, what a mess, what a mess," on the radio before swearing.
But in truth Leclerc was in a world of his own - Vettel had actually been 0.1secs quicker than his team-mate in the first sector of their final laps and Leclerc out-paced him by 0.4secs in the second sector and 0.2secs in the third.
And Vettel did not appear to have any more trouble with traffic than the other Ferrari.
Leclerc also out-qualified team-mate Vettel in the previous race at the Hungaroring
All the top drivers were tripping over each other on their warm-up laps trying to ensure they got a slipstream, so powerful with these ultra-high-downforce, wide Formula 1 cars with their wide rear wings.
At one point Hamilton nearly crashed into his team-mate Valtteri Bottas, locking up his front wheels in the process.
Hamilton, whose team had a race against time to rebuild his car after a crash in final practice, lost out on a place on the front row to Vettel by just 0.015secs.
He said he was happy to have done so well after his earlier problems.
Hamilton said: "Ferrari have done a great job today; Charles did an exceptional job and I hope we can bring the fight to them tomorrow."
Dutch hero Verstappen has thousands of fans, who sing and dance in the stands
What a lap by Leclerc
Leclerc's advantage is his biggest over Vettel this season, in which he has been increasingly impressive. This is his third pole this season, and the sixth time in a row he has out-qualified the German.
"It obviously feels amazing," he said. "It was very tricky, especially in Q3 I struggled quite a lot - the start of the lap was always very messy. But in the end I managed to do the rest of the lap OK. I did not expect to be that far ahead."
Vettel said: "Messy. I was getting into a sort of rhythm, it took a little bit longer for me to get hold of the car but Q3 felt quite messy, a lot of queuing for the last corner, and the tyres then are not there where they are meant to be, but Charles did a better job today. "
"Looking at the pace today, I'm pretty sure we'll be strong." Leclerc said after qualifying
Temperatures are expected to drop as much as 10C for the race, after a 29C high in the Ardennes for qualifying, and this could help Ferrari look after their tyres.
Leclerc said: "We have been quick since P1 but the race simulations in P2 we were not as quick so it is not going to be easy tomorrow. The gap is quite big today but it doesn't mean it will be like that tomorrow, we will be working hard to improve the race runs and we see."
Hamilton said: "It has been an interesting weekend. We struggled in the first sessions and I made a big mistake this morning - with the (set-up) change I made it didn't feel that great.
"But the guys did an incredible job to perfection rebuilding it - I don't ever want to put them in that position. I wanted to pay them back with a good qualifying session.
"Charles has been so quick all weekend but in the long run I am hoping we can at least give them a bit of a challenge. Hopefully we will be there or thereabouts and put in some interesting strategies."
There were several engine failures around Spa through practice and qualifying - none more spectacular than Robert Kubica's Williams
A good job by Albon
Alexander Albon did a strong job on his first outing for Red Bull following his promotion from Toro Rosso.
He did not attempt to get out of second qualifying because a penalty for using too many engine parts meant he was always going to start from the back of the grid.
But on the only lap he started in the second session before aborting it, he was only 0.3secs slower than Verstappen through the middle sector of the lap which features most of the corners.
That is a good start for the Anglo-Thai, especially because qualifying was the first time he had run the car on low fuel after focusing on race set-up throughout practice.
"It's felt very different since P1 and it has felt more and more normal," Albon said. "That was the first time on low fuel, there was a lot of downforce and I was enjoying that. The target was to get in the points and we have spent pretty much the whole weekend focusing on race runs."
And Pierre Gasly, who was demoted from Red Bull and has taken Albon's seat at junior team Toro Rosso for the remainder of the year, out-qualified team-mate Daniil Kvyat, despite only the Russian benefiting from an upgraded new Honda engine.
"A lot of things to discover and to reset my references from before," Gasly said. "I am still learning a lot about the things I can do in this car. I don't think we maximised the car in qualifying but considering we had the old engine compared to Dany, I think we did a decent job."
Swami
Charles Leclerc set a scintillating lap to beat Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel to pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The 21-year-old, still seeking a first career win, was a massive 0.748 seconds clear of his four-time world champion team-mate.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton was second quickest after the first runs but was pipped by Vettel on their last laps after the world champion failed to improve.
Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas was fourth ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
- Belgian Grand Prix qualifying results
- Albon debut: 'An attacking style, lovely fluidity & still lives with his mum'
Hamilton crashed in final practice, leaving Mercedes mechanics without a lunchbreak
The traffic in Belgium is terrible
Vettel grumbled about "traffic", saying: "What a mess, what a mess, what a mess," on the radio before swearing.
But in truth Leclerc was in a world of his own - Vettel had actually been 0.1secs quicker than his team-mate in the first sector of their final laps and Leclerc out-paced him by 0.4secs in the second sector and 0.2secs in the third.
And Vettel did not appear to have any more trouble with traffic than the other Ferrari.
Leclerc also out-qualified team-mate Vettel in the previous race at the Hungaroring
All the top drivers were tripping over each other on their warm-up laps trying to ensure they got a slipstream, so powerful with these ultra-high-downforce, wide Formula 1 cars with their wide rear wings.
At one point Hamilton nearly crashed into his team-mate Valtteri Bottas, locking up his front wheels in the process.
Hamilton, whose team had a race against time to rebuild his car after a crash in final practice, lost out on a place on the front row to Vettel by just 0.015secs.
He said he was happy to have done so well after his earlier problems.
Hamilton said: "Ferrari have done a great job today; Charles did an exceptional job and I hope we can bring the fight to them tomorrow."
Dutch hero Verstappen has thousands of fans, who sing and dance in the stands
What a lap by Leclerc
Leclerc's advantage is his biggest over Vettel this season, in which he has been increasingly impressive. This is his third pole this season, and the sixth time in a row he has out-qualified the German.
"It obviously feels amazing," he said. "It was very tricky, especially in Q3 I struggled quite a lot - the start of the lap was always very messy. But in the end I managed to do the rest of the lap OK. I did not expect to be that far ahead."
Vettel said: "Messy. I was getting into a sort of rhythm, it took a little bit longer for me to get hold of the car but Q3 felt quite messy, a lot of queuing for the last corner, and the tyres then are not there where they are meant to be, but Charles did a better job today. "
"Looking at the pace today, I'm pretty sure we'll be strong." Leclerc said after qualifying
Temperatures are expected to drop as much as 10C for the race, after a 29C high in the Ardennes for qualifying, and this could help Ferrari look after their tyres.
Leclerc said: "We have been quick since P1 but the race simulations in P2 we were not as quick so it is not going to be easy tomorrow. The gap is quite big today but it doesn't mean it will be like that tomorrow, we will be working hard to improve the race runs and we see."
Hamilton said: "It has been an interesting weekend. We struggled in the first sessions and I made a big mistake this morning - with the (set-up) change I made it didn't feel that great.
"But the guys did an incredible job to perfection rebuilding it - I don't ever want to put them in that position. I wanted to pay them back with a good qualifying session.
"Charles has been so quick all weekend but in the long run I am hoping we can at least give them a bit of a challenge. Hopefully we will be there or thereabouts and put in some interesting strategies."
There were several engine failures around Spa through practice and qualifying - none more spectacular than Robert Kubica's Williams
A good job by Albon
Alexander Albon did a strong job on his first outing for Red Bull following his promotion from Toro Rosso.
He did not attempt to get out of second qualifying because a penalty for using too many engine parts meant he was always going to start from the back of the grid.
But on the only lap he started in the second session before aborting it, he was only 0.3secs slower than Verstappen through the middle sector of the lap which features most of the corners.
That is a good start for the Anglo-Thai, especially because qualifying was the first time he had run the car on low fuel after focusing on race set-up throughout practice.
"It's felt very different since P1 and it has felt more and more normal," Albon said. "That was the first time on low fuel, there was a lot of downforce and I was enjoying that. The target was to get in the points and we have spent pretty much the whole weekend focusing on race runs."
And Pierre Gasly, who was demoted from Red Bull and has taken Albon's seat at junior team Toro Rosso for the remainder of the year, out-qualified team-mate Daniil Kvyat, despite only the Russian benefiting from an upgraded new Honda engine.
"A lot of things to discover and to reset my references from before," Gasly said. "I am still learning a lot about the things I can do in this car. I don't think we maximised the car in qualifying but considering we had the old engine compared to Dany, I think we did a decent job."
Swami
Swami
Telly Talk Supreme
Awful news from Spa this evening.
Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert killed in Belgium crash
Hubert was part of Renault's young driver programme
Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert has been killed in a crash at the Belgian Grand Prix, motorsport's governing body the FIA has said.
The Frenchman, who was 22, suffered a huge impact from the car of American Juan Manuel Correa at about 170mph at the Raidillon swerves.
An FIA statement said that Hubert was taken to the medical centre after the incident, and died at 18:35 local time.
Correa was taken to Liege hospital and is in a stable condition, the FIA said.
The race was stopped after the crash and cancelled within a few minutes when the potential seriousness of the accident became clear.
Formula 2 have announced that Sunday's sprint race at Spa has been cancelled "out of respect", while the Formula 3 race will go ahead.
Hubert, who drove for the BWT Arden team, was lying eighth in the championship and had scored two wins this season, in Monaco and France.
He was also was part of Renault F1's young driver programme. Renault said in a statement: "Anthoine was a member of the Renault Sport Academy and raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, the final ladder to F1.
"As reigning GP3 champion and member of the Equipe de France, FFSA (French Federation of Motorsport), the Frenchman was a huge talent who also brought great energy and positivity to his championship, his teams and the Renault Sport Academy.
"His smile and sunny personality lit up our formidable group of young drivers, who had formed tight and enduring bonds.
"His strong results in F2 this season, including wins on home soil in Monaco and France, inspired not just the other recruits but also the wider Renault Sport Racing group."
Other racing drivers and teams from across motorsport have paid tribute on social media.
Former F1 driver Fernando Alonso posted on Twitter: "What a sad afternoon. I have no words. It hurts the heart. Rest in peace, champ."
Lewis Hamilton wrote on Instagram: "This is devastating. God rest your soul Anthoine. My prayers and thoughts are with you and your family today.
"If a single one of you watching and enjoying this sport think for a second what we do is safe your hugely mistaken. All these drivers put their life on the line when they hit the track and people need to appreciate that in a serious way because it is not appreciated enough.
"Not from the fans nor some of the people actually working in the sport. Anthoine is a hero as far as I'm concerned, for taking the risk he did to chase his dreams. I'm so sad that this has happened. Let's left him up and remember him. Rest in peace brother."
Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi said on Twitter: "We are boys who, with great sacrifice, chase their dreams. But we are first and foremost professionals. Anthoine was all this, but above all he was one of us. At this terrible time my thoughts are with his family and all the people who love him."4
Swami
Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert killed in Belgium crash
Hubert was part of Renault's young driver programme
Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert has been killed in a crash at the Belgian Grand Prix, motorsport's governing body the FIA has said.
The Frenchman, who was 22, suffered a huge impact from the car of American Juan Manuel Correa at about 170mph at the Raidillon swerves.
An FIA statement said that Hubert was taken to the medical centre after the incident, and died at 18:35 local time.
Correa was taken to Liege hospital and is in a stable condition, the FIA said.
The race was stopped after the crash and cancelled within a few minutes when the potential seriousness of the accident became clear.
Formula 2 have announced that Sunday's sprint race at Spa has been cancelled "out of respect", while the Formula 3 race will go ahead.
Hubert, who drove for the BWT Arden team, was lying eighth in the championship and had scored two wins this season, in Monaco and France.
He was also was part of Renault F1's young driver programme. Renault said in a statement: "Anthoine was a member of the Renault Sport Academy and raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, the final ladder to F1.
"As reigning GP3 champion and member of the Equipe de France, FFSA (French Federation of Motorsport), the Frenchman was a huge talent who also brought great energy and positivity to his championship, his teams and the Renault Sport Academy.
"His smile and sunny personality lit up our formidable group of young drivers, who had formed tight and enduring bonds.
"His strong results in F2 this season, including wins on home soil in Monaco and France, inspired not just the other recruits but also the wider Renault Sport Racing group."
Other racing drivers and teams from across motorsport have paid tribute on social media.
Former F1 driver Fernando Alonso posted on Twitter: "What a sad afternoon. I have no words. It hurts the heart. Rest in peace, champ."
Lewis Hamilton wrote on Instagram: "This is devastating. God rest your soul Anthoine. My prayers and thoughts are with you and your family today.
"If a single one of you watching and enjoying this sport think for a second what we do is safe your hugely mistaken. All these drivers put their life on the line when they hit the track and people need to appreciate that in a serious way because it is not appreciated enough.
"Not from the fans nor some of the people actually working in the sport. Anthoine is a hero as far as I'm concerned, for taking the risk he did to chase his dreams. I'm so sad that this has happened. Let's left him up and remember him. Rest in peace brother."
Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi said on Twitter: "We are boys who, with great sacrifice, chase their dreams. But we are first and foremost professionals. Anthoine was all this, but above all he was one of us. At this terrible time my thoughts are with his family and all the people who love him."4
Swami
Swami
Telly Talk Supreme
Anthoine Hubert Formula 2 death: Why the motorsport 'family' races on
Hubert (right) was born in Lyon and started karting at the age of 12
The accident that killed Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert on Saturday serves as a reminder of the unpalatable truth that motor racing can never be safe.
It has, understandably, cast a pall over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
As safety has improved over the years, accidents such as this, and their terrible outcomes, have become increasingly rare. But any time a human being straps themself into a projectile and races closely with other cars at speeds of well over 100mph, they are taking a very serious risk.
This day would otherwise have been filled with talk of Ferrari's front-row lock-out, whether they could finally deliver a win this season, and so on, but people who work in Formula 1 know a bad accident when they see one, and the reaction to this one was instantaneous.
World champion Lewis Hamilton was conducting television interviews at the time and was glancing, as F1 drivers do, at the start of the F2 race.
As the accident unfolded in all its horrific violence, he said: "Oh wow. Hope that kid's good. Wow. That's terrifying."
He rubbed his forehead, his face a mask of concern, and then walked off, not saying another word.
At Red Bull, their new driver Alexander Albon was holding his news conference with the written media, the F2 race on a television screen behind him.
Journalists inhaled in horror at what they were seeing. Albon turned around, watched what was happening, and said nothing. Then, after a minute or so, crossed his hands to indicate to his media handler that the session was over.
Immediately, even though there was no confirmation of the seriousness of the accident, the paddock at Spa descended into silence. People's faces set. Work was undertaken with stoicism and silent contemplation. Motor racing is a hard, brutal business, in a number of ways, but the sport also considers itself a family, and it rarely feels closer than at times like this.
These moments confront racing drivers in a very visceral and immediate sense with the dangers of the profession they chose because they love it. The risk they take is an inherent part of that love, however hard that might be for some to comprehend.
Of course they don't want to be injured, or worse, but the very fact they can be adds an extra frisson to an activity that already rewards its participants with feelings that simply cannot be experienced anywhere else.
Report
The combination of balance, bravery, skill, judgement and excitement that comes from controlling a racing car on the very edge of adhesion at high speed, and trying to beat everyone else while doing it, is what makes racing drivers stand out from other people, and makes it different from most other sports
It is also part of the appeal to the people who watch it. They don't want to see people hurt either, but they appreciate what the drivers are doing, what it requires of them, and what is at stake.
Not for nothing did Hemingway say: "There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games."
As Hamilton said: "If a single one of you watching and enjoying this sport think for a second what we do is safe, you're hugely mistaken. All these drivers put their life on the line when they hit the track and people need to appreciate that in a serious way because it is not appreciated enough. Not from the fans nor some of the people actually working in the sport.
"Anthoine is a hero as far as I'm concerned, for taking the risk he did to chase his dreams. I'm so sad that this has happened. Let's lift him up and remember him."
Hubert is the first man to die as a result of an accident in a race sanctioned by international governing body the FIA since F1 driver Jules Bianchi, who sustained terrible head injuries in a crash during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix and died the following July.
The last driver killed in a major international motor race was Britain's Justin Wilson - hit on the head by debris during an IndyCar race at Pocono, Pennsylvania in August 2015.
Fans pay tribute to F1 driver Jules Bianchi every year at the Japanese GP at Suzuka
Since then, there have been a number of serious accidents, but no fatalities, which is a testament to the ongoing work around the world to improve safety.
There will be a full investigation into this accident. It will be considered whether the 'halo' head-protection device, which was introduced last year as a direct result of Bianchi's accident, did its job as intended. The forces involved will be analysed. Lessons will be learned, and changes made. But in some cases, there is not much to be done. The human body can only take so much, which is why the risk of motorsport can never be entirely eradicated.
Spa-Francorchamps, where this accident happened, is one of the world's greatest, most historic, fastest, most challenging and, yes, most dangerous race tracks. To a man, the drivers look forward to races there more than those at a mere handful of circuits around the world. But they don't do it lightly. They do it in full awareness of the risks they are taking.
Saturday night, over dinner with friends and colleagues, the 20 F1 drivers will contemplate the loss of a man who some of them knew, some of them had raced against, and of whom some were only aware as someone who could very well, one day soon, be one of them.
On Sunday, they will wake up and drive into Spa, and go about their usual pre-race preparations. They will do it with seriousness, sobriety and an iron determination to carry on with business as usual.
Then, at 3.10pm local time, they will watch five red lights come on one by one and then go out, and within a few seconds they will be racing nose to tail and perhaps even side by side at close to 200mph over the exact spot where, less than 24 hours earlier, a colleague paid the ultimate price.
The sport they love brings them incredible highs and, as on Saturday, awful lows. The combination of all that is - whatever one may think of it - what makes it so thrillingly, awfully, terribly, tragically, special.
They are truly not as other men.
Swami
Hubert (right) was born in Lyon and started karting at the age of 12
The accident that killed Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert on Saturday serves as a reminder of the unpalatable truth that motor racing can never be safe.
It has, understandably, cast a pall over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
As safety has improved over the years, accidents such as this, and their terrible outcomes, have become increasingly rare. But any time a human being straps themself into a projectile and races closely with other cars at speeds of well over 100mph, they are taking a very serious risk.
This day would otherwise have been filled with talk of Ferrari's front-row lock-out, whether they could finally deliver a win this season, and so on, but people who work in Formula 1 know a bad accident when they see one, and the reaction to this one was instantaneous.
World champion Lewis Hamilton was conducting television interviews at the time and was glancing, as F1 drivers do, at the start of the F2 race.
As the accident unfolded in all its horrific violence, he said: "Oh wow. Hope that kid's good. Wow. That's terrifying."
He rubbed his forehead, his face a mask of concern, and then walked off, not saying another word.
At Red Bull, their new driver Alexander Albon was holding his news conference with the written media, the F2 race on a television screen behind him.
Journalists inhaled in horror at what they were seeing. Albon turned around, watched what was happening, and said nothing. Then, after a minute or so, crossed his hands to indicate to his media handler that the session was over.
Immediately, even though there was no confirmation of the seriousness of the accident, the paddock at Spa descended into silence. People's faces set. Work was undertaken with stoicism and silent contemplation. Motor racing is a hard, brutal business, in a number of ways, but the sport also considers itself a family, and it rarely feels closer than at times like this.
These moments confront racing drivers in a very visceral and immediate sense with the dangers of the profession they chose because they love it. The risk they take is an inherent part of that love, however hard that might be for some to comprehend.
Of course they don't want to be injured, or worse, but the very fact they can be adds an extra frisson to an activity that already rewards its participants with feelings that simply cannot be experienced anywhere else.
Report
The combination of balance, bravery, skill, judgement and excitement that comes from controlling a racing car on the very edge of adhesion at high speed, and trying to beat everyone else while doing it, is what makes racing drivers stand out from other people, and makes it different from most other sports
It is also part of the appeal to the people who watch it. They don't want to see people hurt either, but they appreciate what the drivers are doing, what it requires of them, and what is at stake.
Not for nothing did Hemingway say: "There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games."
As Hamilton said: "If a single one of you watching and enjoying this sport think for a second what we do is safe, you're hugely mistaken. All these drivers put their life on the line when they hit the track and people need to appreciate that in a serious way because it is not appreciated enough. Not from the fans nor some of the people actually working in the sport.
"Anthoine is a hero as far as I'm concerned, for taking the risk he did to chase his dreams. I'm so sad that this has happened. Let's lift him up and remember him."
Hubert is the first man to die as a result of an accident in a race sanctioned by international governing body the FIA since F1 driver Jules Bianchi, who sustained terrible head injuries in a crash during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix and died the following July.
The last driver killed in a major international motor race was Britain's Justin Wilson - hit on the head by debris during an IndyCar race at Pocono, Pennsylvania in August 2015.
Fans pay tribute to F1 driver Jules Bianchi every year at the Japanese GP at Suzuka
Since then, there have been a number of serious accidents, but no fatalities, which is a testament to the ongoing work around the world to improve safety.
There will be a full investigation into this accident. It will be considered whether the 'halo' head-protection device, which was introduced last year as a direct result of Bianchi's accident, did its job as intended. The forces involved will be analysed. Lessons will be learned, and changes made. But in some cases, there is not much to be done. The human body can only take so much, which is why the risk of motorsport can never be entirely eradicated.
Spa-Francorchamps, where this accident happened, is one of the world's greatest, most historic, fastest, most challenging and, yes, most dangerous race tracks. To a man, the drivers look forward to races there more than those at a mere handful of circuits around the world. But they don't do it lightly. They do it in full awareness of the risks they are taking.
Saturday night, over dinner with friends and colleagues, the 20 F1 drivers will contemplate the loss of a man who some of them knew, some of them had raced against, and of whom some were only aware as someone who could very well, one day soon, be one of them.
On Sunday, they will wake up and drive into Spa, and go about their usual pre-race preparations. They will do it with seriousness, sobriety and an iron determination to carry on with business as usual.
Then, at 3.10pm local time, they will watch five red lights come on one by one and then go out, and within a few seconds they will be racing nose to tail and perhaps even side by side at close to 200mph over the exact spot where, less than 24 hours earlier, a colleague paid the ultimate price.
The sport they love brings them incredible highs and, as on Saturday, awful lows. The combination of all that is - whatever one may think of it - what makes it so thrillingly, awfully, terribly, tragically, special.
They are truly not as other men.
Swami
Swami
Telly Talk Supreme
Charles Leclerc dedicates first F1 win to Anthoine Hubert
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finally took his maiden Formula 1 victory after holding off Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes to win the Belgian Grand Prix.
Leclerc dedicated the win to Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert, who was killed in a crash on Saturday.
"This one is for Anthoine," he said over team radio after crossing the line. "Feels good, but difficult to enjoy on a weekend like this."
After pulling up in the pits at the end, Leclerc celebrated in fittingly subdued style, pointing at the sticker on his Ferrari dedicated to the memory of Hubert, against whom he had raced on his way through the ranks to F1.
Every driver and team carried a special marker in tribute to Hubert
Hubert lost his life following a substantial crash
The 21-year-old has come close to wins twice before in his first season with Ferrari, his second in F1, but delivered under pressure at the classic Spa track.
But he had to fight for it as Hamilton closed in to cross the line less than a second behind in a nail-biting finish.
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was third, ahead of the second Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel, who had a disappointing day, outclassed and out-paced by his team-mate.
And McLaren's Lando Norris suffered a bitter blow at the end. After a strong race in fifth place after starting 11th, he suffered a suspected engine failure on the final lap and dropped out of the points.
That elevated Alexander Albon to fifth after a strong drive from 17th on the grid on his first outing for Red Bull.
Spa was Ferrari's first team win since Raikkonen won the United States GP last year
Ferrari had locked out the front row in qualifying with Leclerc ahead of Vettel, but they always suspected the race would be a more difficult task, and they were right.
Leclerc led away from pole and Vettel managed to re-pass Hamilton up the long straight to Les Combes after losing second at the first corner.
After a safety car following a collision between Kimi Raikkonen's Alfa Romeo and Max Verstappen's Red Bull led to the Dutchman crashing out at Eau Rouge, Leclerc led the first stage of the race, inching away from Vettel as Hamilton began to pressure the German.
Hamilton's pace forced Ferrari to pit Vettel early on lap 15, to prevent Mercedes getting ahead by doing the same, and his pace on fresh tyres meant that he was leading by the time Leclerc and Hamilton rejoined from their pit stops six and seven laps later.
But Leclerc closed rapidly on Vettel, who was told to let him by so as not to hold his team-mate up, and after Hamilton also passed Vettel easily with 22 laps to go, the race became a fight between Leclerc and the five-time champion.
Leclerc looked to be in control, but Ferrari were wearing their tyres quicker than Mercedes.
Hamilton was seven seconds behind with 10 laps to go, but then began to carve chunks out of Leclerc's lead and was 1.5secs behind going into the final lap.
There were back markers to negotiate but Leclerc held on, to take a first win he has deserved for some time.
Raikkonen is tipped up into the air by Verstappen at the first corner, ending the Dutchman's race...
...and disappointing the orange army - here to watch the Dutchman in their thousands
What did Leclerc say?
Leclerc would have won in Bahrain, the second race of the season, had he not suffered an engine problem in the closing laps. He also crashed in qualifying in Azerbaijan when looking set to dominate the weekend, and lost the win to Verstappen in Austria with just two laps to go.
But he has come on increasingly strong as the season has gone on, and the suspicion is that there will be many more wins to follow this one, now the dam has finally been broken.
But his celebrations were muted by the context of the weekend, a sobering one for all drivers, but especially for Leclerc, who had known Hubert well.
"On the one hand I have realised a childhood dream but on the other it has been a very difficult weekend," he said.
"We lost friend first of all. It is very difficult in these situations. I want to dedicate this win to Anthoine. We have grown up together and my first ever race I did when I was seven with Anthoine. So it is such a shame what happened yesterday. I can't enjoy it fully, my first victory, but it is a memory that will live with me forever.
"It has been a very difficult race, we have been struggling quite a bit with the tyres to the end but I managed the tyres better than in Budapest.
"Mercedes were very quick in the race and we expected that. But it is a good weekend, pole position and first win.
"The end of the race was definitely not easy, he was catching pretty quickly. I had quite a bit of pressure but I kept him behind.
Hamilton, whose championship lead has extended to 65 points over Bottas, said: "I gave it absolutely everything that I had. A really difficult race. The Ferraris were just too quick on the straights.
"I got close at the end, maybe needed a few more laps but congratulations to Charles. His first win, he has had it coming all year and I am really happy for him."
Swami
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finally took his maiden Formula 1 victory after holding off Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes to win the Belgian Grand Prix.
Leclerc dedicated the win to Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert, who was killed in a crash on Saturday.
"This one is for Anthoine," he said over team radio after crossing the line. "Feels good, but difficult to enjoy on a weekend like this."
After pulling up in the pits at the end, Leclerc celebrated in fittingly subdued style, pointing at the sticker on his Ferrari dedicated to the memory of Hubert, against whom he had raced on his way through the ranks to F1.
Every driver and team carried a special marker in tribute to Hubert
Hubert lost his life following a substantial crash
The 21-year-old has come close to wins twice before in his first season with Ferrari, his second in F1, but delivered under pressure at the classic Spa track.
But he had to fight for it as Hamilton closed in to cross the line less than a second behind in a nail-biting finish.
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was third, ahead of the second Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel, who had a disappointing day, outclassed and out-paced by his team-mate.
And McLaren's Lando Norris suffered a bitter blow at the end. After a strong race in fifth place after starting 11th, he suffered a suspected engine failure on the final lap and dropped out of the points.
That elevated Alexander Albon to fifth after a strong drive from 17th on the grid on his first outing for Red Bull.
- Belgian Grand Prix full race results
- Listen: 'This one is for Anthoine'
- F1 pays tribute to Hubert with minute's silence at Spa
- Why the motorsport 'family' races on after a driver pays the ultimate price
Spa was Ferrari's first team win since Raikkonen won the United States GP last year
Ferrari had locked out the front row in qualifying with Leclerc ahead of Vettel, but they always suspected the race would be a more difficult task, and they were right.
Leclerc led away from pole and Vettel managed to re-pass Hamilton up the long straight to Les Combes after losing second at the first corner.
After a safety car following a collision between Kimi Raikkonen's Alfa Romeo and Max Verstappen's Red Bull led to the Dutchman crashing out at Eau Rouge, Leclerc led the first stage of the race, inching away from Vettel as Hamilton began to pressure the German.
Hamilton's pace forced Ferrari to pit Vettel early on lap 15, to prevent Mercedes getting ahead by doing the same, and his pace on fresh tyres meant that he was leading by the time Leclerc and Hamilton rejoined from their pit stops six and seven laps later.
But Leclerc closed rapidly on Vettel, who was told to let him by so as not to hold his team-mate up, and after Hamilton also passed Vettel easily with 22 laps to go, the race became a fight between Leclerc and the five-time champion.
Leclerc looked to be in control, but Ferrari were wearing their tyres quicker than Mercedes.
Hamilton was seven seconds behind with 10 laps to go, but then began to carve chunks out of Leclerc's lead and was 1.5secs behind going into the final lap.
There were back markers to negotiate but Leclerc held on, to take a first win he has deserved for some time.
Raikkonen is tipped up into the air by Verstappen at the first corner, ending the Dutchman's race...
...and disappointing the orange army - here to watch the Dutchman in their thousands
What did Leclerc say?
Leclerc would have won in Bahrain, the second race of the season, had he not suffered an engine problem in the closing laps. He also crashed in qualifying in Azerbaijan when looking set to dominate the weekend, and lost the win to Verstappen in Austria with just two laps to go.
But he has come on increasingly strong as the season has gone on, and the suspicion is that there will be many more wins to follow this one, now the dam has finally been broken.
But his celebrations were muted by the context of the weekend, a sobering one for all drivers, but especially for Leclerc, who had known Hubert well.
"On the one hand I have realised a childhood dream but on the other it has been a very difficult weekend," he said.
"We lost friend first of all. It is very difficult in these situations. I want to dedicate this win to Anthoine. We have grown up together and my first ever race I did when I was seven with Anthoine. So it is such a shame what happened yesterday. I can't enjoy it fully, my first victory, but it is a memory that will live with me forever.
"It has been a very difficult race, we have been struggling quite a bit with the tyres to the end but I managed the tyres better than in Budapest.
"Mercedes were very quick in the race and we expected that. But it is a good weekend, pole position and first win.
"The end of the race was definitely not easy, he was catching pretty quickly. I had quite a bit of pressure but I kept him behind.
Hamilton, whose championship lead has extended to 65 points over Bottas, said: "I gave it absolutely everything that I had. A really difficult race. The Ferraris were just too quick on the straights.
"I got close at the end, maybe needed a few more laps but congratulations to Charles. His first win, he has had it coming all year and I am really happy for him."
Swami