Jules Bianchi 3^rd August 1989 – 17^th July 2015

Jules Bianchi was born on the 3^rd August 1989 in Nice, France to Phillipe and Christine Bianchi. Motorsport was in Bianchi’s blood; his grandfather, Mauro Bianchi and his great uncle, Lucien Bianchi both competed in Formula One themselves. His great uncle passed away in 1969 whilst testing for the famous Le Mans 24 hours race. Not only was racing a Bianchi birthright but it was also made highly accessible to Jules from a very young age. At the age of three, Jules began go-karting at the track that his father owned.

In 2007 at the age of 17, Jules left his karting days behind him and made the step up to the French Formula Renault 2.0 series racing for the SG Formula team. Jules proved his immense potential talent by taking home the Championship amassing five wins on his way to the title. Later that year Jules rose through the ranks once more and entered the Formula 3 Euro Series. In 2008 Jules finished 3^rd in the Formula 3 Euro Series racing for the ART Grand Prix team. Building on the success of his 3^rd placed Championship finish Jules went on to win the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2009. Jules scored eight wins on his way to the title alongside now renowned rookie teammates Esteban Gutierrez and Valtteri Bottas.

Jules continued to race for the ART Grand Prix team but made the step up to GP2 in 2010. That year Jules managed to secure two poles positions. Unfortunately, Jules was to suffer a heavy injury whilst racing at the Hungaroring. On the opening lap, Jules spun the car into the oncoming pack and this resulted in a fractured second lumbar vertebra. Despite the assumed severity of his injury Bianchi proved his stalwart character and cemented his reputation as a ‘fighter’ by returning for the very next race. Jules continues with ART in 2011 alongside teammate Esteban Gutierrez. Jules went on to finish 3^rd in the overall Championship behind Luca Filippi and now household name Romain Grosjean who was crowned champion.

2011 saw Jules finally get a chokehold on the Formula One scene as he was named official test and reserve driver for one of the most prestigious Formula One teams of all time, Ferrari. Jules tested for Ferrari alongside another household name Sergio Perez who tested for Sauber Ferrari both subsequently found race seats at Marussia and McLaren respectively. Marussia were very much a developing team in 2013 and one of the grid’s back-runners. As such, Jules failed to challenge for points for the majority of the season as did teammate at the time Charles Pic. Jules’s highest finish of the season came at the Malaysian Grand Prix where he managed to finish 13^th which eventually meant Marussia pipped Caterham to 10^th in the Constructor’s Championship. Jules therefore earned the Marussia team precious millions in their fight to remain on the grid in the highly demanding financial climate.

Jules kept his seat after his crucial Malaysia finish for 2014. This season proved to be Jules’s greatest as a racing driver. At the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix, Jules completely and utterly outperformed his comparatively underdeveloped car and finished in 9^th. This secured Marussia their only two points as a constructor and Jules his only two World Driver’s Championship points. Jules was paired with teammate Max Chilton for the 2014 season and managed to establish himself over the young Brit Chilton by outracing him in eight grand prix. Upon hearing that Fernando Alonso and Luca di Montezemelo, then Chairman of Ferrari, were having issues Jules declared himself fit and ready to step into the vacant Ferrari seat should he be needed. Di Montezemelo has since affirmed that due to his popularity and temperament as a driver Jules would have certainly gone on to drive for Ferrari.

On the 5^th October 2014 at Suzuka at the Japanese Grand Prix Jules was to complete his last ever lap in a Formula One car. As Typhoon Phanfone approached the track alongside heavy rainfall Jules lost control of the car and aquaplaned off the track at turn seven. Jules’s car collided with a car-recovery crane on the track in an impact thought to be 132mph. Typically, a Formula One driver will experience levels of G-force as high as 10 through braking phases and cornering sections of tracks. The impact of Jules’s car was measured at 92G almost ten times the typical amounts drivers are subjected to. The race was immediately stopped.

Jules Bianchi died on the 17^th July 2015, aged 25. Jules Bianchi was the first Formula One driver to die since the nightmare weekend in Imola in 1994 in which Rubens Barichello suffered a huge crash in Friday practice. This was subsequently followed by the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger in Saturday’s qualifying session and three-time World Champion Ayrton Senna on race day on Sunday. Jules now rests in his native city of Nice. All of his luminaries and many of the sport’s best-retired drivers and most influential figures attended Jules’s funeral.

Head of the FIA Jean Todt has announced that Jules Bianchi’s number 17 will be retired in honour of the late French driver. Jules’s death was a tragic accident that has galvanised the paddock and reinforced the calls for consistent and continuous research into the safety surrounding the sport.

RIP Jules