Jules Bianchi funeral takes place as Lewis Hamilton joins mourners for tragic Formula One driver who died nine months after horror crash at Japanese Grand Prix
- Jules Bianchi crashed into a crane during the F1 Japanese Grand Prix in 2014 and suffered huge head injuries
- The 25-year-old Marussia driver sadly passed away nine months after the crash in a dark day for Formula One
- Statement from Bianchi family: 'Jules fought right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle came to an end'
- Father, Philippe recently admitted it was 'daily torture' for his family after Jules showed little progress while in coma
Lewis Hamilton was among mourners this morning as Formula One stars joined relatives of driver Jules Bianchi at his funeral.
Bianchi died on Friday, nine months after a horrific crash at the Japanese Grand Prix which left him in a coma.
Hamilton,
wearing dark glasses and a black suit, was joined by fellow drivers
Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button and Romain Grosjean, who was with his wife
Marion Jolles at the Sainte Reparate Cathedral service in 25-year-old
Bianchi's home city of Nice, France.
Bianchi's
father Philippe was pictured weeping outside the city's cathedral as
mourners including FIA president Jean Todt and former F1 star Alain
Prost arrived.
Pallbearers carried Bianchi's coffin into
the cathedral, while his race helmet was also taken into the service and
two large portraits of the Frenchman hung outside. Solemn applause
resonated and church bells also sounded during the funeral
Last Friday, Bianchi became the first
driver to die of injuries sustained in a Formula One race since
three-time world champion Ayrton Senna was killed at the 1994 San Marino
Grand Prix.
Bianchi had been in a coma
since October 2014 after suffering a diffuse axonal injury following a
collision with a crane on the side of the circuit. He had been receiving
treatment at a hospital in Nice but his family announced his passing in
the early hours of Saturday morning.
A statement read: 'It is with deep
sadness that the parents of Jules Bianchi, Philippe and Christine, his
brother Tom and sister Melanie, wish to make it known that Jules passed
away last night at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) in Nice,
(France) where he was admitted following the accident of 5th October
2014 at Suzuka Circuit during the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix.
'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. We wish
to thank the medical staff at Nice's CHU who looked after him with love
and dedication.
'We also thank the
staff of the General Medical Center in the Mie Prefecture (Japan) who
looked after Jules immediately after the accident, as well as all the
other doctors who have been involved with his care over the past months.
Heartbreaking scenes from the funeral of Jules Bianchi
'Furthermore, we thank Jules' 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.
'We
would like to ask that our privacy is respected during this difficult
time, while we try to come to terms with the loss of Jules.'
Manor
Marussia tweeted: 'We are devastated to lose Jules after such a
hard-fought battle. It was a privilege to have him race for our team.'
On Monday, accompanying a
picture with his newly-born niece, Hamilton wrote: 'I've just got to
meet my beautiful new niece Willow.
'She
was born only hours after Jules passed away. I feel like God needed an
angel & chose Jules, at the same time born a new angel to be one
day.
'I pray that she gets to
see the wonders of the world, as an uncle I will try to protect her from
the bad & help guide her through the good.'
Earlier in the week Bianchi's father
revealed the suffering his family had been under as they waited for
their son to show signs of improvement.
'It's
unbearable, it is a daily torture,' Philippe told France Info. 'It
sometimes seems crazy because for me, it is certainly worse than if he
had died in the accident. Because we don't have the power to help him
more.
'In general, progress must be
made in the first six months and it has been nine months and Jules is
still not awake and there is no significant progress.
'The passing time, it makes me less
optimistic than I was two or three months after the accident, when we
were hoping for a better outcome.'
The
young driver competed in 34 races during the 2013 and 2014 seasons,
scoring the first ever championship points for the Manor-Marussia team
by finishing ninth at last year's Monaco Grand Prix.
It
was announced on Monday that the FIA would permanently retire the No 17
that Bianchi used. It is also expected that the grid will observe a
one-minute silence ahead of Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix at the
Hungaroring.
In 2013, the Frenchman made his debut
for Marussia – finishing 15th at the Australian Grand Prix. He failed to
win a point that season but managed a 13th-place finish at the
Malaysian Grand Prix.
Bianchi scored
his and Marussia's first points in F1 at the Monaco Grand Prix the next
season when he finished ninth, and he impressed so much that he was
tipped as a future Ferrari driver.
Bianchi's
fateful accident happened when he lost control of his car during wet
conditions at the Suzuka circuit and collided with a tractor crane that
was removing Adrian Sutil's Sauber which had crashed a lap earlier.
F1 driver Jules Bianchi dies from crash injures aged 25
The race was red flagged and ended nine
laps early as medics attended to Bianchi, who was later taken to
hospital and underwent surgery on a severe head injury. He remained in
hospital in Japan before later being moved to France but failed to show
any improvement in his condition.
Following
Bianchi's accident, F1 chiefs launched an investigation and shifted the
start times of five Grands Prix for this season so that no race would
start with a risk of running in bad light.
The
times for Australia (now 4pm), Malaysia (3pm), China (2pm), Japan (2pm)
and Russia (2pm) are all one hour earlier than they were in 2014.
JULES BIANCHI: THE PROMISING YOUNG DRIVER FROM A RACING DYNASTY
Jules
Bianchi was born on 3 August 1989 in Nice, France and made his Formula
One debut in 2013, driving for Marussia alongside Max Chilton.
The unmarried Frenchman has previously raced in Formula Renault 3.5, the GP2 Series and Formula Three.
The 25-year-old entered Formula One as a test driver in 2011 at Ferrari, and for Force India the following season.
Bianchi is the grandson of Mauro Bianchi, three-times World Champion in the GT category.
He
is also the grandnephew of Lucien Bianchi who won the 1968 24 Hours of
Le Mans and competed in nineteen Grands Prix in the Formula One World
Championship between 1959 and 1968, with a podium finish in Monaco
Since 2013, Bianchi has been a race driver with the Marussia Formula One Team.
He has been tipped as a future prospect for Ferrari's main team, and has consistently finshed ahead of teammate Max Chilton.
He failed
to finish the Grand Prix in Japan in 2013 after crashing out of the
Suzuka race circuit just yards from the spot of his accident in October.
1989: August 3, born in Nice.
2007:
Moves into French Formula Renault 2.0 after starting his racing career
in karting - winning five races to take the championship. Also races in
the Formula Renault Eurocup on three occasions.
2008:
Makes the move to the Formula Three Euro Series after signing with ART
Grand Prix and finishes third in the standings in maiden year. Also wins
the Masters of Formula Three in Holland, where he races against fellow
Formula One drivers Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo and Marussia
team-mate Max Chilton.
2009:
Stays with the ART team and, with team-mates including Valtteri Bottas
and Esteban Gutierrez, secures championship with nine wins.
2010:
Steps up to GP2, competing in GP2 Asia and the GP2 Series with the ART
Grand Prix team. Involved in the fight for the Asian championship before
suffering a broken vertebra at a race in Hungary.
2011:
Links up again with Gutierrez at ART and finishes second in the GP2
Asia Series behind Romain Grosjean. Also fills the role of test and
reserve driver with Ferrari's Formula One team.
2012:
Loaned by Ferrari to Force India, where he again acts as reserve
driver, taking part in nine practice sessions while racing in Formula
Renault 3.5.
2013: Earns a race seat with the Marussia Formula One team, with a 13th-placed finish in Malaysia his best result of the season.
2014: Retained
by Marussia and scores both his and the team's first points in Formula
One when he finishes eighth in Monaco. Linked with a possible move to
Ferrari but the deal to take four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel
from Red Bull scuppers any move.
THE STATEMENT FROM THE BIANCHI FAMILY
It
is with deep sadness that the parents of Jules Bianchi, Philippe and
Christine, his brother Tom and sister Mélanie, wish to make it known
that Jules passed away last night at the Centre Hospitalier
Universitaire (CHU) in Nice, (France) where he was admitted following
the accident of 5th October 2014 at Suzuka Circuit during the Japanese
Formula 1 Grand Prix.
'Jules fought
right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle came to an
end,' said the Bianchi family. 'The pain we feel is immense and
indescribable. We wish to thank the medical staff at Nice's CHU who
looked after him with love and dedication. We also thank the staff of
the General Medical Center in the Mie Prefecture (Japan) who looked
after Jules immediately after the accident, as well as all the other
doctors who have been involved with his care over the past months.
'Furthermore,
we thank Jules' 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.
'We would like to ask that our
privacy is respected during this difficult time, while we try to come to
terms with the loss of Jules.'
STATEMENT FROM JOHN BOOTH, TEAM PRINCIPAL FOR MARUSSIA F1
'Words
cannot describe the enormous sadness within our team this morning, as
we come to terms with losing Jules. He has left an indelible mark on all
our lives, and will forever be part of everything we have achieved, and
everything we will strive for going forward.
'Jules
was a shining talent. He was destined for great things in our sport;
success he so richly deserved. He was also a magnificent human being,
making a lasting impression on countless people all over the world. They
recognised, as did we, that at the same time as being a fiercely
motivated racer, he was also an extremely warm, humble and intensely
likeable person, who lit up our garage and our lives.
'We
are incredibly grateful that we were able to provide Jules with the
opportunity to show the world what he could do in a Formula 1 car. We
knew we had a very special driver on our hands from the first time he
drove our car in pre-season testing in 2013. It has been an honour to be
able to consider him our race driver, our team-mate, and of course our
friend.
'Our thoughts and prayers are
with the wonderful Bianchi family, who have remained so strong for Jules
throughout the past nine months. In turn, Jules was an absolute credit
to them.
'Finally, we would like to
thank everyone who has supported Jules since his accident in Japan last
October. Your kindness has been such a source of comfort to his family
and to us, his team. We will rely on your continued support over the
coming days and months as we race on for Jules.'
