Formula One driver Jules Bianchi sadly lost his life in the late hours of last night, nine months after his horror crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.
The 25-year-old suffered the crash at Suzuka last October when he lost control of his car before crashing into a recovery vehicle during the rain-hit race.
It’s a sad day for Formula One fans as the Frenchman has an exciting career ahead of him but after being in a coma for over nine months, Bianchi lost the battle.
His family said: “Jules fought right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle came to an end.” After his father released a statement on Wednesday describing his son’s progress as ‘slow’ the young Maurissia driver was unable to wake up and sadly died.
“We thank Jules’s colleagues, friends, fans and everyone who has demonstrated their affection for him over these past months, which gave us great strength and helped us deal with such difficult times.
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.”
His racing team Maurissia now known as Manor led the tributes today and said that Jules left an “indelible mark on all our lives”.
Jules was a young driver who has shown his talent throughout many years of racing and to be taken away from us at such a young age is a massive shame. Some people don’t understand how mucn F1 drivers risk their lives week in week out doing something they love and it’s clear to see how many lives this devastating news has affected.
Bianchi had previously raced in Formula Renault 3.5 before competing in the GP2 series. He was then racing in Formula Three until becoming a test driver for F1 in 2011 at Ferrari before having the same role at Force India the following year. In 2013 he made his debut in the Championship for team Marissia and achieved 13th at the Malaysian GP in his debut season.
In October 2013, Marussia confirmed he would be one of the drivers in the upcoming season, and it was that same year at the Monaco GP where he score his and his teams only two points of the season. Sadly the young Frenchman was unable to finish the season after the crash at Suzuka which resulted in him being in a coma.
What the other drivers said:
McLaren’s Jenson Button posted on Twitter: “Last night we lost a truly great guy and a real fighter. RIP Jules, my sincerest condolences to his family and friends.”
Lotus driver Roman Grosjean said: “Yesterday we lost one of the best guys and best drivers I’ve ever met. I’ll miss you so much my friend.
: “Woke up to the very sad news. RIP Jules. You will be never forgotten. My thoughts are with the family.”
My thoughts and prayers go out to all the friends and family of Jules and I can speak on behalf of every single F1 fan and hope you recover well during this difficult time.
#ForzaJules
liam headd 