Bianchi family's pain "immense" as Jules dies following F1 accident (2024)

Jules Bianchi has become the first driver since Ayrton Senna in 1994 to die from injuries sustained in a Formula 1 Grand Prix race, the family confirmed last night.

In a brief statement the Bianchi family said that Bianchi had "fought right to the very end" and that their pain at his loss is "immense and indescribable".

In a sense they have lost him twice; once when he crashed during last year's Japanese Grand Prix, hitting a mobile crane that was moving Adrian Sutil's car, suffering a diffuse axonal injury to the brain, which put him into a coma and now today with his death at the age of 25.

His father Philippe had foreshadowed this loss earlier in the week with a sad bulletin on French radio in which he had said that Jules would not have wanted to live in the condition he was in, nine months in a coma : "If he had a severe handicap, we are convinced that is not what Jules would want,” said Bianchi Sr. “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.”

Bianchi, whose death comes just two weeks before his 26th birthday, only raced in 34 Grands Prix with the Marussia team, but scored the vital two points in Monaco 2014, which earned prize money the team has used as a lifeline to return from administration this season as Manor GP. The prize money of almost $50m which was earned by the points Bianchi scored that day is essentially what underpins their continued entry in F1.

The plans were in place for Bianchi to move to Sauber for 2015 and from there one day possibly to Ferrari. He tested for Ferrari in summer 2014 after Kimi Raikkonen was sidelined at Silverstone in a startline accident at the British Grand Prix. Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo said that he had Bianchi earmarked for the third Ferrari if the team was obliged to enter a third car should the field drop to 16 cars.

Bianchi wrote a monthly driver column on this website during 2014, offering fans a chance to get to know him better and to show a little of the life of a modern F1 driver. Jules Bianchi Column

"Realizing your dreams is one of the most beautiful things that can happen to a person and I am happy to have fulfilled the biggest dream, which is to drive in F1. I have been dreaming of it since I was a kid but only when I started racing single seaters did I realize that my hopes could become a reality," he wrote.

Many drivers woke up to the news of his death on Saturday morning and put out messages on their social media channels.

Bianchi family statement

“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.

"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."

Manor F1 team issued a statement on Saturday morning, part of which said:

“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."