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From Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault motorist & BBC Radio 5 Live commentator
Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer, that left Renault during the 2017 year, offers analysis and insight from the point of view of the competitors and is a part of the BBC group
A sombre and dreadful weekend was faced by formula 1 in the Grand Prix, along with the way of the victory of Charles Leclerc was a fitting reflection of their durability demanded from all included on Sunday at Spa.
After Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert’s death about the Saturday drivers said following the race that they had not wanted to engage and that can be completely understood by me.
I’ve been in a similar situation myself, back when Henry Surtees was killed in 2009.
When he had his accident in the Formula two series that is older, I was really the car before Henry, and it really shook me. I knew Henry and got on with him. This is a defining moment in my life and profession where I realised that this sort of thing might actually occur.
Without thinking they would have hurt, let alone be murdered Every one of these young drivers will have gone. You can’t believe any other way.
Safety is good nowadays and motorists regularly walk. And with the debut of the’halo’ head protection device the automobiles are safer than ever.
However, the truth is that the sport has dangers that cannot be eradicated.
After Henry was killed 10 decades ago, it woke me up. I could not have thought about driving however I had been in a different place since I didn’t have to – the next race wasn’t for a month.
Though the mood was still sombre when we turned up to another race, and you get back in the car that little more conscious, it was helpful to be back into a practice session again, dialling back at your own pace, and on a entirely different circuit.
It was in many ways a more demanding task for its drivers last weekend.
To know about the seriousness and consequences of large accidents, have that preying on your mind and then go flat out at race terms from the off, and through the exact same corners where the accident occurred – which requires a enormous quantity of mental toughness which you can’t be prepared for.
And that was the story of this weekend.
For Leclerc, this was for many. He knew Hubert nicely, having hurried him off and on throughout his career, such as in his kart race. Nevertheless his drive was ideal. His performance over the weekend was.
Despite taking another dominant pole position, by a huge 0.7-second perimeter above his team-mate Sebastian Vettel, he had a lot of pressure heading into Sunday.
Ferrari hadn’t won a race all season and the staff and drivers came under pressure for a joint first half of the season.
With that background heading in the Grand Prix, Leclerc did everything straight. He received a fantastic start, and fundamentally had greater speed than Vettel. He gave him a buffer to the chasing and allowed him to look after his tyres better during the race Lewis Hamilton, that had been the larger threat.
The resilience of leclerc was not confined to rushing on Sunday and turning up. He had to be strong mentally to win the race also.
He’s had two race wins slide through his fingers already and this was, as Hamilton upped the strain to go.
But suffering that was strong regardless of his tyres was maintained by Leclerc .
The pressure was enormous. It was a situation not dissimilar to Austria, at which Verstappen pinched the triumph from under the nose with two or three laps of Leclerc to go and needed a fee.
In Spa Leclerc was able to keep from Hamilton’s reach, being incisive through a bunch of markers and making no errors at all.
This is a win for himin the most difficult of circumstances. Now he has the first win under his belt, so I believe it’s only a matter of time until the second follows.
Emotional strength is something all athletes should have and F1 is different. Leclerc has shown he has that in abundance and it moves in stead for the long run.
The fact he promptly pointed and clutching the camera following the race to his tribute sticker for Hubert, rather showed where his mind was in Spa. Yet he still produced a drive.
There were many others who demonstrated well in conditions. Pierre Gasly, alexander Albon and Nico Hulkenberg completed with results.
Albon had a great deal of strain on his shoulders after his mid-season switch. The strain has been reduced by beginning from the rear of the grid because of an engine penalty. However, the scrutiny throughout his weekend was high, more than he ever would have confronted since he turned into the driver to find himself in a race winning car – and in his 13th Grand Prix.
He was never going to have the ability to struggle to get a podium or a win at Belgium. But a drive would have contributed a lot of encouragement to Red Bull.
Not only did he display pace that is impressive at times through the weekend, however, also some amazing that could have excited the Red Bull bosses.
Pierre Gasly, the man he replaced had a good deal of attention. Switching back to Toro Rosso could have been demanding for Gasly on the back of a first half of the year at Red Bull.
It is a dismissal, however, Gasly is on the grid also has the capacity to show if he can create some good drives due to their junior team Red Bull they have been erroneous.
The drive of gasly was also strong, finishing in ninth place. That was because of plan, although he did end up behind Daniil Kvyat that is team-mate. In addition to this, you can’t dismiss the Hubert background, which appeared to affect Gasly more than most understandably.
Hubert was described by gasly among his best allies, and they roomed together in their way up the ranks. For him to race Sunday was tough, but he put in a drive to be pleased with.
Ultimately, Hulkenberg discovered in the week leading up that he had lost his drive to Esteban Ocon – another adversary of both Hubert, Gasly and Leclerc for 2020.
With more pressure and a point Hulkenberg put into a drive to finish eighth.
He is very likely to stay in F1 next year. However, it’s uncomfortable for a motorist to be heading with no push for the year and your chair.
All in all, this is a weekend from that no motorist would have left positive feelings.
A departure this close to home can take some time to proceed from, and also for the drivers in the field, it may be a sharp wake up on the perils that may exist within a sport we’ve got so safe.
It does show, however, the resilience they all have, into these circumstances that are challenging to race when most would go home and consider.
They race this weekend in Monza, and the show will proceed.
Actress Erika Rosenbaum explains her experience
Analysis and comment in the BBC Formula 1 writer.
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