Jules Bianchi (3 August 1989 – 17 July 2015) was a French motor racing driver who drove for Marussia F1 in the FIA Formula One World Championship.
Bianchi had previously raced in Formula Renault 3.5, the GP2 Series and Formula Three. He entered Formula One as a test driver in 2011 at Scuderia Ferrari, and carried out a similar role for Force India the following season. In 2013, he made his debut driving for Marussia, finishing 15th in his opening race in Australia. He ended the season in 19th position, but failed to score any points. His best result in his debut season was 13th at the Malaysian Grand Prix. In October 2013, the team confirmed that he would drive for the team the following season. In the 2014 season, he scored both his and the Marussia's first points in Formula One at the Monaco Grand Prix.
On 5 October 2014, during the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, Bianchi lost control of his Marussia in wet conditions and collided with a recovery vehicle, suffering a diffuse axonal injury. First taken to a hospital in Japan, Bianchi was placed into an induced coma to treat his injuries. He was later relocated to a hospital in his native France, where he remained comatose until his death on 17 July 2015. Bianchi became the first Formula One driver fatality during a Grand Prix since Ayrton Senna in 1994.
Early and personal life
Born in Nice, France, to Philippe, Jules Bianchi was the grandson of Mauro Bianchi, who competed in GT racing the 1960s. He was also the grandnephew of Lucien, 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.
In his professional motorsport career, Bianchi was managed by ART boss Nicolas Todt who also manages, among others, Formula One driver Felipe Massa.
Early career
Formula Renault 2.0
In 2007 Bianchi left karting and raced in French Formula Renault 2.0 for SG Formula, where he finished as champion with five wins. He also competed in the Formula Renault Eurocup where he had one pole position and one fastest lap in three races.
Formula 3 Euro
In 2008 Bianchi won the Masters of Formula 3 at Zolder, and also finished third in the 2008 Formula 3 Euro Series season.
Bianchi continued in the F3 Euroseries in 2009, leading ART's line-up along with rookie team-mates Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Gutiérrez and Adrien Tambay. With eight wins, Bianchi sealed the title with a round to spare, at Dijon-Prenois. He then added a ninth win at the final round at Hockenheim. He also drove in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series at Monaco, after SG Formula acquired the cars formerly run by Kurt Mollekens.
GP2 Series
Series season. He competed in three of the four rounds of the GP2 Asia championship. In the main series, Bianchi took two pole positions and a number of points positions before he was injured in a first-lap crash at the Hungaroring. In the feature race, he spun into the path of the field exiting the first corner, and was struck head-on by Ho-Pin Tung, sustaining a fractured second lumbar vertebra in the process. Bianchi was fourth in the drivers' championship at the time of his injury. Despite initial pessimistic assessments of the severity of his injury, he recovered to take part in the next round of the championship.
Bianchi remained with ART for 2011, and was partnered by 2010 GP3 Series champion Esteban Gutiérrez. He starred in the first two rounds of the 2011 GP2 Asia Series, holding off Romain Grosjean for victory in the feature race and gaining fourth in the sprint race, but he was later penalised. He finished runner-up to Grosjean in the drivers' championship. In the main series, Bianchi finished third in the championship, behind Grosjean and Luca Filippi.
Formula Renault 3.5
Bianchi opted to switch to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series for 2012, following his one-off appearance in the category in 2009. He signed for the Tech 1 Racing team, and was partnered with Kevin Korjus, and later with Daniel Abt.
Formula One
Ferrari and Sahara Force India
In August 2009, Bianchi was linked by the BBC and various other media sources to the second Ferrari Formula One seat occupied by Luca Badoer during Felipe Massa's absence. Bianchi tested for Ferrari at the young drivers test at Circuito de Jerez for two of the three days, over 1–2 December 2009. The other drivers tested on 3 December included Daniel Zampieri, Marco Zipoli and Pablo Sánchez López as the top three finishers in the 2009 Italian Formula Three Championship. Bianchi's performance in this test led to him becoming the first recruit of the Ferrari Driver Academy and signing-up to a long-term deal to remain at the team's disposal.
On 11 November 2010 he was confirmed by Ferrari as the team's test and reserve driver for the 2011 season, replacing Luca Badoer, Giancarlo Fisichella and Marc Gené, as well as confirming he would test for the team during the young driver test in Abu Dhabi over 16–17 November. Bianchi carried on his GP2 Series racing, as Formula 1 allows test and reserve drivers to race in parallel in other competitions. On 13 September 2011, Bianchi tested for Ferrari at Fiorano, as part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, with fellow academy member and Sauber F1 driver Sergio Pérez. Bianchi completed 70 laps and recorded a quickest lap time of 1:00.213. For the 2012 season, Ferrari loaned him to the Force India team, for whom he drove in nine Friday free practice sessions over the course of the year as the outfit's test and reserve driver.
Marussia
2013
On 1 March 2013, Marussia announced that Bianchi was to replace Luiz Razia as a race driver after Razia's contract was terminated, due to sponsorship issues. Bianchi qualified 19th for the Australian Grand Prix, out-qualifying team-mate Max Chilton by three-quarters of a second. Bianchi overtook Pastor Maldonado, and Daniel Ricciardo on the first lap and he eventually finished 15th on his debut. He was 19th on the grid again in Malaysia, 0.3 seconds away from Q2. Bianchi fell behind the Caterhams at the start of the race, but moved up the order after the pit stops, eventually going on to finish 13th, ahead of his teammate, and both Caterhams. As of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Bianchi had beaten his teammate in all qualifying sessions and all races that both of them had finished. In the Japanese Grand Prix he and Charles Pic of Caterham were given ten-place grid penalties for receiving three reprimands over the season, and at the race, his race ended early after a collision with Giedo van der Garde.
2014
In October 2013, Marussia confirmed that Bianchi would stay at the team for the following season. After starting off the season with struggles in Australia, in which he was not classified, Bianchi overcame the odds to score his – and his team's – first World Championship points by finishing ninth at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Out of the nine races which Bianchi and Max Chilton completed without retiring, during the 2014 season, he was the quicker driver in eight of them, establishing his status as the first driver. Chilton retired twice, and Bianchi five times, with three of Bianchi's retirements being mechanical failures.
2014 Suzuka accident
On lap 43 of the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, which was held on Sunday, 5 October, under intermittent heavy rainfall caused by the approaching Typhoon Phanfone, Bianchi lost control of his car and veered right towards the run-off area on the outside of the Dunlop Curve (technically known as "turn seven") of the Suzuka Circuit. He collided with the rear of a tractor crane tending to the removal of Adrian Sutil's Sauber after Sutil had spun out of control and crashed in the same area a lap before. Subsequent media reports said to be based on information obtained from FIA documents claimed that the speed of impact was recorded at 212 km/h (132 mph) and that the impact generated 92 g0 (900 m/s2). Spectators' video footage and photographs of the accident revealed that the left side of Bianchi's Marussia car was extensively damaged and the roll bar destroyed as it slid under the tractor crane. The impact was such that the tractor crane was partially jolted off the ground causing Sutil's Sauber, which was suspended in the air by the crane, to fall back to the ground. The race was stopped.
Bianchi was reported as being unconscious after not responding to either a team radio call or marshals. He was treated at the crash site before being transported by ambulance to the circuit's medical centre. Due to safety concerns with landing caused by the precarious weather conditions, it was determined that emergency transport by helicopter was not possible. Bianchi was thus further transported by ambulance for 32 minutes, under police escort, to the Mie Prefectural General Medical Center in Yokkaichi, the nearest hospital to the circuit some 15 km (9.3 mi) away. Initial reports by his father, Philippe, to television channel France 3, were that Bianchi was in critical condition with a head injury and was undergoing an operation to reduce severe bruising to his head. The FIA subsequently released a statement that CT scans showed Bianchi suffered a "severe head injury" in the crash, and that he would be admitted to intensive care following surgery.
Amongst the first hospital visitors were Marussia's CEO Graeme Lowdon and team principal John Booth, the latter staying by Bianchi's side even after the inaugural Russian Grand Prix, as well as Ferrari's then team principal Marco Mattiacci – given Bianchi's status as a Ferrari Academy driver – and current Formula One driver, Felipe Massa. On the Monday after the Suzuka race, also seen visiting the Mie University were Pastor Maldonado and Bianchi's manager and assistant manager, Nicolas Todt and Alessandro Alunni Bravi, respectively.
Bianchi's parents, who arrived in Japan late on Monday – joined, that Thursday, by their other children, Mélanie and Tom, and Jules' best friend, Lorenz Leclerc – released a statement on Tuesday, 7 October, expressing appreciation for the outpouring of support from the public and for the presence of professor Gerard Saillant, president of the FIA Medical Commission, and professor Alessandro Frati, neurosurgeon of the Sapienza University of Rome, who travelled to Japan at the request of Scuderia Ferrari. They also provided a medical update, confirming that the injury suffered was a diffuse axonal injury and that Bianchi was in a critical but stable condition. A prognosis of the injury or its after-effects would not be known for weeks or at least a month according to medical specialists.
Bianchi's crash was the second major accident for the Marussia F1 team within three years; previously, in 2012, at the FIA-approved Duxford Aerodrome testing facility, reserve driver Maria de Villota suffered major head injuries after colliding with a stationary truck, upon returning to the service area from straight-line testing.
Team reaction
At the inaugural Russian Grand Prix, one week after the accident, the Marussia team originally registered Alexander Rossi in place of the hospitalised Bianchi, before finally deciding to field only a single car driven by Bianchi's team-mate, Max Chilton. In addition, several tributes were planned for the race:
- Fellow Frenchman and Formula One driver, Jean-Eric Vergne championed the idea for helmet stickers to honour and support Bianchi.
- Marussia adopted a "#JB17" livery on the cockpit sides of its MR03 car (which continued to be used in the subsequent year), In addition, other teams introduced their own to the other Twitter hashtag.
- The drivers held a one-minute silence in honour of Bianchi just before the race; the eventual race winner, Lewis Hamilton, dedicated his win to Bianchi.
The Monday after the Japanese Grand Prix, then-outgoing Ferrari president, Luca di Montezemolo, disclosed to the media that Bianchi had been poised to become the third Ferrari driver in 2015 in the event that the championship moved to three car teams, as had widely been speculated at the time.
During the subsequent week of 13 October 2014, Marussia's CEO Graeme Lowdon confirmed that the team would return to a two-car operation for the remainder of the season; however, the team entered administration prior to the United States Grand Prix.
After the 2015 Australian Grand Prix in March, John Booth, now team principal of the newly established Manor Marussia F1 team, paid tribute to Bianchi's point performance at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix since the prize money won enabled the team to stay in Formula One. In addition, coinciding with the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix, the Manor Marussia team commemorated their injured driver with special red wristbands inscribed with "Monaco 2014 P8 JB17".
FIA reaction and investigation
Following Bianchi's accident, the FIA began an investigation and also considered appropriate changes to safety procedures, such as those at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where the location of a tractor crane serving the Senna S chicane was altered.
The FIA released its initial findings at a special conference held during the inaugural Russian Grand Prix on the Saturday after the Japanese Grand Prix weekend. Among other things, it was revealed that Bianchi had slowed down at turn seven but without disclosing by what margin or the speed of impact, and that the journey to the hospital by ambulance took only an extra seven minutes relative to the helicopter, without any adverse effects on Bianchi's condition.
Further, the FIA confirmed ongoing research into closed cockpits for Formula One cars, the possibility of fitting protective skirting to all recovery vehicles as well as ways to slow down cars in crash zones more effectively than double yellow flags. With respect to the latter, the FIA moved to quickly consider the introduction of a virtual safety car – or VSC system – which was then tested during the season's final three Grands Prix in the United States, Brazil and Abu Dhabi – based on a Le Mans racing "slow zone" arrangement that does not neutralise race proceedings as much as safety car periods.
Following on from the above, in the week beginning 13 October 2014, the FIA reportedly emailed all teams to request that they retain any information related to Bianchi's Suzuka accident, for exclusive use by an accident panel established by the FIA to investigate Bianchi's accident.
On 20 October 2014, the FIA announced a 10 member review panel to investigate the cause of the accident, which was made up of former drivers team principals, and published its findings on 3 December 2014. The report found that there was no single cause of Bianchi's accident, but rather a combination of factors, including the track conditions, car speed, and the presence of a recovery vehicle on the circuit. The report also made several suggestions to improve safety when recovering stricken vehicles—which were subsequently introduced for the 2015 season—before concluding that it would not have been possible to mitigate Bianchi's injuries through changes to the cockpit design. The report also revealed that the fail-safe for the car's brake-by-wire system has failed, but that the Marussia team was not culpable for the accident.
Medical treatment and updates
The first family update came from Bianchi's father during the week beginning 13 October 2014. He was reported to have declared that his son's condition was "desperate", with doctors describing his survival as a miracle, but drew hope from Michael Schumacher waking from of his coma. The Marussia team also issued its own updates on Bianchi's condition while rejecting initial speculation about their role in the accident.
Bianchi remained in a critical but stable condition and remained in a hospital in Yokkaichi, Japan for several months, and required a medical ventilator to breathe. Bianchi was taken out of his artificial coma on 19 November and was breathing unaided, enabling him to be moved. He was flown to France for admission at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice (fr) (CHU), where he remained unconscious and in a critical condition until July 2015. On 13 July, Bianchi's father publicly conceded becoming "less optimistic" due to the lapse of time since the accident and the lack of meaningful progress.
Death
Bianchi died from his injuries on 17 July 2015, aged 25, becoming the first Formula One driver to be killed due to injuries sustained during a race since Ayrton Senna's death following his accident at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
The official statement, released by his family in the early hours of the following day, said:
His family went on to thank his doctors and supporters, and to ask for privacy.
Tributes
Widespread tributes followed from fellow drivers, Bernie Ecclestone, French president François Hollande and other sport personalities, including David Beckham. The Manor Marussia team also published a statement on their facebook page describing Bianchi as, among other things, "a magnificent human being" and a "shining talent". The Grand Prix Drivers' Association announced that it felt a responsibility "to never relent in improving safety".
Racing record
Career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | French Formula Renault 2.0 | SG Formula | 13 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 172 | 1st |
| Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 22nd | ||
| 2008 | Formula 3 Euro Series | ART Grand Prix | 20 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 47 | 3rd |
| Macau Grand Prix | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 9th | ||
| Masters of Formula 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 1st | ||
| 2009 | Formula 3 Euro Series | ART Grand Prix | 20 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 114 | 1st |
| British Formula Three Championship | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | NC† | ||
| Macau Grand Prix | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 10th | ||
| Formula Renault 3.5 Series | SG Formula | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| 2009–10 | GP2 Asia Series | ART Grand Prix | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 12th |
| 2010 | GP2 Series | ART Grand Prix | 20 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 52 | 3rd |
| 2011 | GP2 Series | Lotus ART | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 53 | 3rd |
| GP2 Asia Series | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 2nd | ||
| Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari | Test driver | |||||||
| 2012 | Formula Renault 3.5 Series | Tech 1 Racing | 17 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 185 | 2nd |
| Formula One | Sahara Force India F1 Team | Test driver | |||||||
| 2013 | Formula One | Marussia F1 Team | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19th |
| 2014 | Formula One | Marussia F1 Team | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17th |
† Bianchi was a guest driver, therefore ineligible to score points.
Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | ART Grand Prix | Dallara F308/049 | Mercedes | HOC 1 Ret | HOC 2 13 | MUG 1 3 | MUG 2 4 | PAU 1 Ret | PAU 2 26 | NOR 1 Ret | NOR 2 9 | ZAN 1 3 | ZAN 2 9 | NÜR 1 2 | NÜR 2 3 | BRH 1 22 | BRH 2 18 | CAT 1 Ret | CAT 2 3 | BUG 1 1 | BUG 2 17 | HOC 1 7 | HOC 2 1 | 3rd | 47 |
| 2009 | ART Grand Prix | Dallara F308 | Mercedes | HOC 1 5 | HOC 2 3 | MUG 1 1 | MUG 2 14 | PAU 1 1 | PAU 2 3 | NOR 1 1 | NOR 2 1 | ZAN 1 1 | ZAN 2 6 | NÜR 1 1 | NÜR 2 5 | BRH 1 Ret | BRH 2 Ret | CAT 1 1 | CAT 2 5 | BUG 1 2 | BUG 2 1 | HOC 1 1 | HOC 2 7 | 1st | 114 |
Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | KMP Group/SG Formula | CAT 1 | CAT 2 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | MON 1 Ret | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | BUG 1 | BUG 2 | ALG 1 | ALG 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | ALC 1 | ALC 2 | NC | 0 |
| 2012 | Tech 1 Racing | ALC 1 DSQ | ALC 2 13 | MON 1 2 | SPA 1 2 | SPA 2 17 | NÜR 1 1 | NÜR 2 12 | MSC 1 2 | MSC 2 7 | SIL 1 1 | SIL 2 3 | HUN 1 3 | HUN 2 9 | LEC 1 4 | LEC 2 1 | CAT 1 7 | CAT 2 Ret | 2nd | 185 |
Complete GP2 Series results
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | ART Grand Prix | ESP FEA Ret | ESP SPR 12 | MON FEA 4 | MON SPR 3 | TUR FEA Ret | TUR SPR 13 | VAL FEA 2 | VAL SPR Ret | GBR FEA 2 | GBR SPR 5 | GER FEA 5 | GER SPR 4 | HUN FEA Ret | HUN SPR DNS | BEL FEA 14 | BEL SPR Ret | ITA FEA 2 | ITA SPR 4 | ABU FEA 18 | ABU SPR 7 | 3rd | 52 |
| 2011 | Lotus ART | TUR FEA 3 | TUR SPR 7 | ESP FEA 7 | ESP SPR Ret | MON FEA Ret | MON SPR 19 | VAL FEA Ret | VAL SPR 7 | GBR FEA 1 | GBR SPR 5 | GER FEA 4 | GER SPR 2 | HUN FEA 7 | HUN SPR 6 | BEL FEA 2 | BEL SPR 2 | ITA FEA 8 | ITA SPR 3 | 3rd | 53 |
Complete GP2 Asia Series results
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | ART Grand Prix | ABU1 FEA | ABU1 SPR | ABU2 FEA 3 | ABU2 SPR 7 | BHR1 FEA 10 | BHR1 SPR NC | BHR2 FEA 10 | BHR2 SPR Ret | 12th | 8 |
| 2011 | Lotus ART | ABU FEA 1 | ABU SPR 8 | ITA FEA 3 | ITA SPR Ret | 2nd | 18 |
Complete Formula One results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force India VJM05 | Mercedes | AUS | MAL | CHN TD | BHR | ESP TD | MON | CAN | EUR TD | GBR TD | GER TD | HUN TD | BEL | ITA TD | SIN | JPN | KOR TD | IND | ABU TD | USA | BRA | – | – |
| 2013 | Marussia F1 Team | Marussia MR02 | Cosworth | AUS 15 | MAL 13 | CHN 15 | BHR 19 | ESP 18 | MON Ret | CAN 17 | GBR 16 | GER Ret | HUN 16 | BEL 18 | ITA 19 | SIN 18 | KOR 16 | JPN Ret | IND 18 | ABU 20 | USA 18 | BRA 17 | 19th | 0 | |
| 2014 | Marussia F1 Team | Marussia MR03 | Ferrari | AUS NC | MAL Ret | BHR 16 | CHN 17 | ESP 18 | MON 9 | CAN Ret | AUT 15 | GBR 14 | GER 15 | HUN 15 | BEL 18† | ITA 18 | SIN 16 | JPN 20† | RUS | USA | BRA | ABU | 17th | 2 |
† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.
(source: wikipedia.org)
(source: wikipedia.org)
