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‘Shameful’ FIA Accused of ‘Negligence’ During Tragic Death of Charles Leclerc’s Friend, Leaving Fans Infuriated

Published 03/14/2023, 3:49 PM EDT

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31st August, 2019 was a dark day for all of motorsport. During the F2 feature race being held at the iconic Spa Francorchamps Circuit, Renault academy driver, the reigning GP3 champion, and a close friend of Charles Leclerc, Anthoine Hubert, lost his life. The tragic incident happened when several cars lost control coming out of Eau Rouge and his stricken car was impacted twice at breakneck speed. Amongst the entangled, was Juan Manuel Correa, who sustained life-threatening injuries, and serious damage to both his legs. After years of rehabilitation, the American will make his heroic racing comeback with the F2 series this year.

However, it would appear that all has not been forgotten about his ordeal. Recently, the 23-year-old has come out with some very serious allegations against the FIA, the governing body of F1 and the junior categories, relating to that accident in 2019.

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In a recent episode of the Track Limits podcast, Correa alleged, “I was alone, I had my family, my friends, my team, but there was zero support from the FIA. That was very bad, to be honest, it was sad, very sad. I almost felt kind of used, in the sense that when you’re giving a good show, they’re there and they’re the first to benefit from it.”

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No doubt, what the man has suffered cannot even be imagined, least undermined. And the fans are fuming at the FIA’s negligence.

Fans react as Juan Manuel Correa blames the FIA in the aftermath of Spa 2019

As soon as the news of Correa’s claims reached the ears of racing fans on Twitter, they rushed to the social networking site to share their reactions. One fan even commented, “Shamefull from the FIA, its not even the first time they provided no support, Latifi got harassed after Abu Dhabi 21 and the most he got from them was a Quote Retweet from the oficial f1 account, they need to Up their Game in these situations.”

Let’s take a look at a few such fan reactions.

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Even though it seemed that there would be divided opinions as to Correa’s claims, it is safe to conclude that the overwhelming response was in favor of the American driver. Many jumped to his defense and were against the FIA.

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Watch This Story: Biggest Scandals in F1 History

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Do you think the FIA could’ve done anything better or different to avoid the tragedy at Spa 2019?

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Written by:

Anirban Aly Mandal

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Anirban Aly Mandal is a Formula 1 Author at EssentiallySports. In his pursuit for a Bachelor's degree in Law from Symbiosis Law School, he has written multiple academic papers centered around the domain of motorsports. Not only that, but due to his love for F1, he aims to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world some day.
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Edited by:

Tony Thomas