Juan Manuel Correa back on the Formula 2 podium in Barcelona – The Ecuadorian managed to achieve this five years after the death of Anthoine Hubert
It was an emotional race weekend for Juan Manuel Correa in Formula 2 in Barcelona. The Ecuadorian experienced a rollercoaster ride of emotions that ended with a happy ending. The 24-year-old finished on the podium in the second race and celebrated his first top-three finish in over five years. Correa achieved this five years after the death of Anthoine Hubert, who was killed in an accident at Spa-Franchorchamps
Correa had actually already finished in the top 3 on Saturday, but was denied a podium place. A total of 14 penalties were handed out after the race, as the drivers had regularly exceeded the track limits. Among them was the youngster born in Quito. He was demoted to eighth place.
However, he fought back on Sunday and finished third behind Jak Crawford and Franco Colapinto. This time, there were no objections from the race organizers and Correa was allowed to keep his first podium finish since 2019 in France. Just four races after his then second podium finish in Formula 2, the terrible accident occurred in Belgium on August 31, 2019.
Hubert was involved in an accident in the infamous Eau Rouge-Raidillon combination. Correa crashed into Hubert’s car with full force. The latter was pronounced dead just a few minutes after the accident, while Correa was seriously injured and taken to hospital. A coma, long rehabilitation and a difficult road back to motorsport characterized Correa’s past years, but he managed to get back into a racing car.
Correa tested a Formula 2 car again in 2021, but he contested his first races in Formula 3, in which he competed for two full seasons before returning to Formula 2 with Van Amersfoort in 2023. In 2024, he raced for DAMS and finished on the podium again after five years. “I knew it, it was five years to the day,” said Correa, who last shared the podium with Hubert at Paul Ricard in June 2019.
“It’s so surreal for me to be standing here and I’m grateful that I still had the opportunity to drive at this level and stand on the podium,” the Ecuadorian continued. “I think about him [Hubert] all the time when I’m doing this sport. I hope he’s up there smiling. “
