Grand Prix of Spa: The maturity certificate

CHARLES LECLERC: The young Monegasque delivers everything the experts have been promising for more than a year. “Prince Charles” represents the future of Formula 1 and probably also that of Ferrari. His driving skills, his youth and his self-confidence are irrefutable arguments that a future world champion is on the road here. Leclerc was really happy about his first Formula 1 victory but not. The accidental death of his friend Anthoine Hubert in the Formula 2 race on Saturday robbed him of his laughter.

Couldn't really be happy: premiere winner Charles Leclerc (right). © AP / Francisco Seco

SEBASTIAN VETTEL: You don't have to be a prophet to predict a difficult future for the four-time world champion (with Red Bull). Vettel was never really competitive at Spa, the team orders from Ferrari instructing him to let Leclerc pass must have been a painful humiliation. Vettel is no longer the number one driver at the Scuderia, in Spa he was just Charles Leclerc's wingman. It no longer seems impossible that Vettel will leave after this season. It would be an undignified end to a great career that he actually wanted to crown with a world title in red.

LEWIS HAMILTON: The world champion made the most of his opportunities, even though the high-speed rollercoaster in the Ardennes just doesn't suit him. Hamilton has already been eliminated four times at Spa, more than in any other race. The fact that he almost intercepted Charles Leclerc in the final laps is a testament to Hamilton's driving class, but cannot hide the fact that Mercedes needs to improve a bit in terms of speed.

MAX STAGES: Well, Max, that was nothing. The Orange Army in the stands took their breath away when their hero landed in the boards after just a few hundred meters. Verstappen missed the start, clashed with Raikkonen and then flew off with a broken front suspension. He took it easy, that's what sets him apart above all else. True to the motto “Shit happens,” Verstappen set off for Monza in a good mood. Max Versappen in the tire piles at Spa. © APA/afp / NICOLAS LAMBERT

EAU ROUGE: When Niki Lauda almost lost his life in his blazing Ferrari in 1976, the end of the infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife was sealed. As the young Frenchman Anthoine Hubert on Saturday in the no less notorious Eau Rouge of Spa died in the rubble of his Formula 2 car , the first calls for defusing the situation were loud. The Eau Rouge/Raidillon passage with its wide asphalt run-off area is particularly criticized. Maybe it really demands too much from the wild offspring in their incredibly fast cars. In any case, motorsport will discuss the issue of safety again. It's not the fault of the cars; in a frontal collision at almost 300 km/h, even carbon fiber and titanium won't help. In the end, the person in the cockpit will always remain the number one uncertainty factor.

DIALOGUE OF THE WEEKEND: “Max, when are you no longer part of the young generation of drivers?” - “When I’m old.” - “When are you old?” - “At 30.”

Max Verstappen in conversation with a Dutch journalist

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Grand Prix of Spa: The maturity certificate

A bittersweet debut victory for Charles Leclerc, who lost a good friend in Spa on Saturday. What else did the motorsport weekend in Belgium, which was overshadowed by the death of Anthoine Humbert, have in store? The school leaving certificate.

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