F1 driver Jules Bianchi passes away

There is a good reason why we like motorsports and the people behind them. They challenge the law of physics in the pursuit of going faster, clock some crazy speeds as it was a walk in the park while battling it out on a piece of tarmac to provide entertainment to their fans. But when one is playing with speed, the risk to life is evident. Yet, this is one facet of motorsport that the people associated and the fans prefer to neglect. Formula 1 is considered the pinnacle of the motorsport owing to the plethora of technology on tap. A lot of development had been done in F1 to improve safety ever since the death of the legendary Ayrton Senna. And the results were evident as since Senna’s untimely death in 1994, the sport hadn’t witnessed a fatality. This is one record that everybody associated with the sport and fans prayed that never be broken. Sadly though records are meant to be broken and it was a young budding driver who was the unfortunate person to do so. 

Jules Bianchi passed away owing to the injuries he had sustained during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. The 25-year old had sustained severe head injuries when his Marussia crashed against a recovery vehicle in extremely wet conditions at Suzuka where visibility was also poor. He was admitted to a speciality hospital in Niece, France and was in coma but he lost the battle for his life in the wee hours of June 18th. 

He was a member of Ferrari’s young driver academy, and Bianchi’s skills were highly regarded. A former Formula Renault and F3 Euro champion, he tested with the Italian team, as well as Force India and Marussia. He was also a race winner in the GP2 Series before progressing to the F1 grid in 2013. The highlight of his Formula One career came at last year’s Monaco Grand Prix, where Bianchi scored his and the fledgling Marussia team’s first championship points with a hard-fought ninth-place finish. According to reports Bianchi was being prepped by Ferrari to replace Kimi Raikkonen in the near future but sadly fate had some other plans. ZigWheels had the opportunity to interact with the young Italian driver during the last Indian GP and he came across as a warm and cheerful human being. His funeral will be held on June 21. Race In Peace Jules!