Leclerc dedicates Belgium GP win to memory of Anthoine Hubert

Charles Leclerc dedicated his maiden Formula 1 victory to the memory of friend Anthoine Hubert, who died tragically in an F2 race on Saturday.

Leclerc finished just ahead of a rampaging Lewis Hamilton to finally claim his first triumph in the discipline, and Ferrari's first win of the season.

Upon exiting his car Leclerc pointed to the sky in reference to the memory of Hubert, and it was clearly an emotional moment for the driver.

Anthoine Hubert (1996-2019)Read more

Speaking to David Coulthard post-race, he said of his win: "On one hand a dream I had since I was a child was realised, on the other hand it has been a very difficult weekend.

"I have lost a friend first of all, but it's very difficult in these situations.

"I would like to dedicate my first win to him. We have grown up together, my first ever race was with Anthoine when we were younger, with Esteban [Ocon], Pierre [Gasly]. It was just a shame what happened yesterday.

"I can't enjoy fully my first victory but it is definitely be a memory I will keep forever."

Hamilton had been bearing down on Leclerc in the closing stages, gaining with every lap, but in the end the five-time world champion just ran out of time, and the Monegasque admitted he was relieved to keep him at bay.

He added: "It's been a very difficult race, we were struggling quite a bit with the tyres towards the end. At the end it's a good weekend performance wise so I'm quite satisfied.

"At the end of the race it was definitely not easy, I had a quite a bit of pressure [from Lewis Hamilton] but I was happy to keep him in behind."

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