Sebastian Vettel challenges F1 bosses after Anthoine Hubert death: Don't put sport before safety

Sebastian Vettel has called on Formula One bosses to improve safety in the wake of Anthoine Hubert’s death at the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

F2 racer Hubert died after being hit at 170mph by the car of Juan Manuel Correa, who remains in intensive care in hospital after extensive surgery.

And ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, Vettel is pushing for even greater improvements, hitting back at critics who had earlier in the season labelled the sport too safe and boring.

“I still think there’s things we can do better and improve,” he said. “Some people think Formula 1 is too safe and too boring but I would rather have boring Formula 1 championships forever and bring Anthoine back.”

Hubert’s death was the first driver fatality at a grand prix weekend since Jules Bianchi in July 2015 nine months after his crash at the Japanese Grand Prix.

“The last few years have been a wake-up call with the passing of Jules and now Anthoine,” said Ferrari’s Vettel “After what happened we need to take a very close look and take some time to understand exactly what happened.

“It will be examined in a very detailed way but to draw any conclusions now is probably not right.” Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo has urged spectators to show greater respect after pockets cheered when Lewis Hamilton crashed in the final practice session at Spa.

He said: “It’s not nice to cheer for someone’s downfall or mistake. Every time we go on track is a risk. If you are a fan respect what we do.”

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