Today the sporting world woke up to the tragic news that
Jules Bianchi had finally lost his battle to the injuries sustained at Suzuka 9
months ago.
In the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, he lost control of his car
in wet weather conditions. He crashed into the back of a recovery vehicle which
was in the process of retrieving the stricken Sauber of Adrian Sutil. From this
Jules received a diffuse axonal injury and remained in a coma ever since.
In a statement released by the Frenchman’s family they said,
“Jules fought right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle
came to an end…The pain we feel is immense and indescribable.” He had been in
the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire in Nice, his birth town, since being moved
from Japan.
In his passing, Jules becomes the first Formula 1 driver to
die from his on track injuries since Ayrton Senna in Imola 1994, the day after
losing Roland Ratzenberger also. Testament to the fast acting nature of F1 and
the prioritising of safety, the Virtual Safety Car introduced for 2015 has been
designed to ensure that an accident similar to Jules is thankfully very
unlikely to reoccur.
The motor sport world has lost a true talent. Signed by
Ferrari to escalate their young driver programme, before becoming Force India
reserve driver in 2012. Then in 2013, he was signed by Marussia. Many drivers
racing at the back of the grid often escape our attention, but in his first
season at Marussia, Jules out raced teammate Charles Pic on all but two occasions
when both cars finished the race. Further testament to his ability is the
headline 9th placed finish he raced to in the 2014 Monaco Grand
Prix. After a series of fierce overtakes he crossed the finish line to claim both
his and Marussia’s first ever points in Formula 1. This alone won Marussia an
estimated $50 million in prize money which has underpinned their revival this
season.
His name was already in the Formula 1 history books, but
following an impressive run in Formula 1 and up through the junior formulas
including winning the Formula 3 championship, twice coming third in the GP2
championship standings and finishing 2nd in the 2012 Renault 3.5
series; many saw Jules as a potential star of the future.
At just 25 years old, Jules Bianchi’s life and career have
been cut desperately short and it is a tragic loss for the sporting world. Social
media has been awash with support for Jules from fans and drivers alike since the day of his accident and
never waning to this day. Something which the family were thankful for, “Listening
to and reading the many messages made us realise just how much Jules had
touched the hearts and minds of so many people all over the world."
Out of this greyest of clouds it does remind the world of
the continuing quest for safety so that risks to health, at least, are
minimised. Furthermore, Bianchi’s father said in a French radio interview last
week that “If he had a severe handicap, we are convinced that is not what Jules
would want,”
“We talked about it. He discussed with us that if one day he had an accident like that of Michael Schumacher, that even if his only handicap was not being able to drive, he would have a lot of difficulty living. Because it was his life.”
“We talked about it. He discussed with us that if one day he had an accident like that of Michael Schumacher, that even if his only handicap was not being able to drive, he would have a lot of difficulty living. Because it was his life.”
Rest in peace, Jules.
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