A moment of silence, in remembrance of fallen Formula One driver Jules Bianchi. During the Japanese Gran Prix in October 2014, the 25 year-old Frenchman who was racing for Marussia F1 team (also known as Manor GP) lost control of the car in adverse weather conditions and collided with a 6.8-tonne recovery tractor. Bianchi suffered a diffuse axonal injury as a result.
He was then airlifted to hospital where he was placed in an induced coma and remained in that comatose state until his untimely passing on July 17th, 2015. A minute of silence was observed at the start of the Hungarian GP last Sunday.
It was reported that F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone had the Bianchi family flown in to Budapest for the tribute from their home in Nice, southern France. Where they were joined by a circle of drivers with their helmets in the middle. Arm in arm, with teary eyes, they bid farewell to a bright shinning F1 driver.
Pic credits: dailymail.co.uk and theguardian.com
It was also learnt that former Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo and ex-team boss Stefano Domenicali that the team had decided before his accident last year that Bianchi would be the replacement for Kimi Raikkonen. Upon winning the top podium spot, Sebastian Vettel said in French: “Merci, Jules. Cette victoire est pour vous” (Thank you Jules, This victory is for you).
Jules was a promising young star, with his career began at the tender age of three. Jules started out in karting. At the age of 17, he was professionally managed by Nicolas Todt. In 2007, he left karting for a shot at Fomula racing. After several wins and climbing up the ranks, he came out on top at the Ferrari Driver Acedemy. In 2013 he took his place as a driver for the Marrusia F1 team. Jules best ever finish was at the 13th spot at our very own Sepang F1 Circuit that year.
