RIP Jules Bianchi | His Career & Driver's Thoughts (video)

Jules Bianchi with his former teammate Max Chilton on the left.

Jules Bianchi dies nine months after crash in Japanese F1 GP

Jules Bianchi's family has announced that the 25-year-old Frenchman died on Friday night, nine months after his crash in Formula 1's 2014 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Bianchi had been in a coma since the accident, in which he suffered a diffuse axonal injury after colliding with a recovery vehicle while driving for Marussia.

He was initially treated at the Mie Prefecture medical centre in Japan before being transferred to a facility in Nice a month after the crash.

Although rehabilitation therapy began late last year, in May Bianchi's father Philippe admitted that the family's hopes were fading and his death was announced in the early hours of Saturday morning.

"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," said a statement from the Bianchi family.

"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.

"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."

Bianchi, whose great uncle Lucien was a sportscar and F1 racer in the 1950s and '60s, was a Ferrari protege who won French Formula Renault and European Formula 3 titles in 2007 and '09 respectively.

He reached F1 via campaigns in GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5, spending 2012 as Force India's third driver before getting a race seat with Marussia the following year.

He famously scored the team's first points with ninth place in the 2014 Monaco GP.

(source: autosport.com)

2015 Silverstone (Full Race)

I had to post this again because the previous video was erased from YouTube.

MiniDrivers - Chapter 7x09 - 2015 British Grand Prix

Take a look at this cartoon! I will probably start posting these after every race if people like them.

2015 British GP Press Conference after the race

Several of you have asked me where you can watch the press conference after the race. The one that comes after the podium. 

The answer is that some countries shows the post press conference as well and some only show the podium interviews. If you haven't seen the previous then watch this. You can usually find them on YouTube. It's just a pity that there's Spannish dubbing that may distract some of you. I managed to watch this anyways :D

Felipe Massa: Bottas key to 2016 driver market

Felipe Massa says his Williams team mate Valtteri Bottas is likely to be crucial to any potential driver changes ahead of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Bottas, who scored his first podium of the season in Canada last month, has been linked in the media to a potential switch to Ferrari in place of Kimi Raikkonen, and Massa believes his current partner’s talent will make him a key player in who goes where next season.

"I think he is one of the most important names on the market," the Brazilian commented.   

"He shows he is a good driver, he has the talent to drive in a top team, and he shows he can do well, whatever team he is racing for. That's why all the teams are interested to get him.

"But we cannot forget he has an option to stay here, so we need to understand what is going to happen. I don't know if he is going or not - we need to wait and see."

Asked about his own future, Massa - who has an option for 2016 with Williams - said he expects to remain with his current team.

"I am happy where I am," he stressed. "Sometimes it's not just money or things like that making a difference: you need to understand what you are doing, where you are and how happy you are.

"I really like this team - they respect me a lot, I feel relaxed and we have some good results as well. I don't see why things would change.

"We have an option for next year, [and] I don't see really why we wouldn't take it and carry on. Results are always the best [way] to keep you happy and relaxed and in the right mind. I feel happy; we're doing a good job."

Like Bottas, Massa has scored one podium with Williams this season. He lies sixth in the driver standings, two places - but just three points - behind his team mate.

(source: f1.com)

Ricciardo laughs off Ferrari speculation

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo says there is little substance in rumours linking him with a switch to Ferrari next year, and that he treats the media chatter as a bit of ‘fun’.

With speculation continuing to swirl around Kimi Raikkonen’s future with the Italian squad, Ricciardo’s name has been one of several put forward as a potential replacement. The Australian outshone current Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel when the two were team mates last year.

“I don’t even know where the rumours started actually - it’s really exploded,” Ricciardo said. “Ferrari is probably the only top team potentially with a seat open, which is why I guess my name and a few others have been linked to that.

“It’s a bit of a laugh. You know what, it’s fun - we talk about these things now, so it creates some variety in our conversations! Obviously it is nice to be regarded by a top team like that - it’s nice to know there is interest from other teams as well. But I am with a top team too.”

Asked if either he or his management had held talks with Ferrari, Ricciardo joked: “I am my manager. I haven’t had any talks - we’ve had indirect talks through the media I guess!”

Ricciardo was one of the stars of the 2014 season, taking three wins and finishing third overall in the drivers’ standings. However, he and Red Bull have struggled for form this season - he currently lies seventh overall, with his best finish being fifth at Monaco.

(source: f1.com)