Formula One Driver, Jules Bianchi, Dies at 25

[Stroker Ace]

BBC Sports:
French Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi has died, nine months after suffering severe head injuries in a crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.
The 25-year-old had been in a coma since crashing his Marussia car into a recovery vehicle in wet conditions in Suzuka last October.
His family said: "Jules fought right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle came to an end."
Marussia, now known as Manor, said the team was "devastated".
Bianchi is the first F1 driver to die from injuries sustained in a Grand Prix since Brazilian triple world champion Ayrton Senna was killed at Italy's Imola circuit in 1994.
Bianchi died in hospital near his parents' home in Nice in the south of France.
His family said: "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."
Bianchi made his F1 debut with Marussia in 2013 and was also a member of the Ferrari young driver academy after previously working as a test driver for the team.
The Manor team tweeted : "We are devastated to lose Jules after such a hard-fought battle. It was a privilege to have him race for our team."
The accident happened when Bianchi's car slid off the track and into a crane picking up German driver Adrian Sutil, who had crashed at the same spot one lap earlier.
A working group of the sport's governing body, the FIA, investigated the accident and found that as Bianchi went off the track into the run-off area, he "applied both throttle and brake together, using both feet" over-riding the fail-safe mechanism. His front wheels had also locked.
It also said that Bianchi "did not slow sufficiently to avoid losing control".
The world of motorsport has been paying tribute to Bianchi.
"No words can describe what his family & the sport have lost. All I can say it was a pleasure knowing & racing you," tweeted British driver Max Chilton, who was Bianchi's team-mate last year.
"Rest in peace dear Jules! We lost a great fighter today. All my thoughts are with you and your family," tweeted endurance racer Andre Lotterer.

I don't know how many of you are racing or motorsports fans around here, or know about my current plans to try to enter the world of stock car racing (I plan to write an opinion piece regarding Jules and how his death affects my prospects sometime soon here), but hearing about driver deaths, especially in Formula One, the most technologically advanced series in the world, makes me deeply saddened. Racing is, indeed, a dangerous activity, but Jules understood the risks involved, and so do other racers who lost their lives, such as Dan Wheldon and Dale Earnhardt, as well as living racers who continue to strap themselves to their cars. Regardless, Jules did not deserve to die. Nobody in racing deserves to die, but death is part of the conditions inherently present. As a fan of Marussia (nowadays known as Manor) and Jules, I hoped to see him take over at Ferrari when Raikkonen inevitably retires, but as we know, that won't happen now.

 

[Eruption]

There's certainly a few F1 fans on here, we have had some short lived threads on it from time to time.

For me, I never thought this day was come. I have been obsessed with F1 since I was a very young child and it's always been ingrained that the sport was now safe and things like this shouldn't happen. Honestly it leaves me with a very sour taste that someone has died competing in an event that was for our entertainment and I've reflected on that since I woke up to the news. Of course it is even more tragic that he was of such a young age and such a great deal of potential. R.I.P. Jules.

 

[tittlemouse]

I was expecting this to happen at some point whilst clinging onto false hope he would survive it was a miracle Bianchi survived the initial impact but without doubt the saddest day in F1 in my lifetime.

The FIA/Suzuka Race organisers must be held responsable for this thou as the decision to hold the race with the typhoon was absolutely crazy as @Archy pointed out Suzuka is a fast pased circuit without the rain. One particular corner catches out every driver atleast once over a race weekend.

Shame to see Binanchi taken so early when he had such talent, dragging Marussia to a points finish is one of the best races I have seen and just like Senna who knows what titles he could of won with his talent
R.I.P Bianchi

 

[Meng Jiaxin]

RIP Jules. I've seen scenes from his funeral and it couldn't be more obvious how much he had touched people despite being in F1 for such a short time. JEV, Romain and Sebastian were close friends and Felipe and Pastor both looked broken up over it. Fernando probably couldn't take the emotion and so decided to stay at home.

I have always supported Ferrari, and had high hopes for him. Nonetheless, may he rest in Jesus' embrace.

 

[Banz]

RIP Jules Bianchi.

Honestly it leaves me with a very sour taste that someone has died competing in an event that was for our entertainment.

That fact has been disturbing me ever since I saw Phil Hughes die last year. I've seen so many sportsmen barely escape death, that I knew sooner or later someone might not be so fortunate. It makes me wonder if it's all really worth rising your life for.