Jules Bianchi, tributes and emotions

Ten years ago today, Jules Bianchi passed away, nine months after a dramatic accident on the Suzuka circuit. Charles Leclerc pays tribute to him this Thursday.

On July 17, 2015, just ten years ago, Jules Bianchi passed away in Nice, surrounded by his family and friends, just a few days shy of his 26th birthday. Nine months earlier, in October 2024, an off-track accident at Suzuka and the horrific collision between his Marussia and a cursed crane had condemned him, with irreparable brain damage and after-effects.

There are many factors to blame. The Japanese weather, first of all, and typhoon Phanfone, which quickly made the track soggy and almost impassable. Then there was F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone’s refusal to postpone the race despite the dreadful track conditions. Adrian Sutil, forced to retire just before Jules Bianchi after losing control of his single-seater at the same point – with the consequences of the crane deployment that we all know – added to the injustice: “Jules went straight on, like me, aquaplaning. There was nothing he could do. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but I tell myself that between the best cars and ours, the difference isn’t just in performance. It’s there, too. For those at the front, in such conditions, it’s all right; for the rest of us, who are less well endowed, it’s not always so. We should have stopped the race earlier!”

There are many reasons for this. The Japanese weather, first of all, and typhoon Phanfone, which quickly made the track soggy and almost impassable. Then there was F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone’s refusal to postpone the race despite the dreadful track conditions. Adrian Sutil, forced to retire just before Jules Bianchi after losing control of his single-seater at the same point – with the consequences of the crane deployment that we all know – added to the injustice: “Jules went straight on, like me, aquaplaning. There was nothing he could do. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but I tell myself that between the best cars and ours, the difference isn’t just in performance. It’s there, too. For those at the front, in such conditions, it’s all right; for the rest of us, who are less well endowed, it’s not always so. We should have stopped the race earlier!

That weekend, a certain Max Verstappen made his Formula 1 debut in the bucket of a Toro Rosso. And the four-time Dutch world champion would prefer “not to remember” the tragedy. “I think he was a beautiful person. And a great driver, with a bright future ahead of him,” said Leclerc at the time, in memory of Jules Bianchi.

Leclerc marked for life by Bianchi

On this sad tenth anniversary, Formula 1 publishes the words of Charles Leclerc, who has not and will not forget the pugnacious Côte d’Azur driver. “He was my big brother’s best friend, he was always around,” recalls the Monegasque driver with Scuderia Ferrari. “Jules was the most competitive person I’ve ever met. I feel I have this competitive spirit thanks to him.”

“I hope Jules will be remembered as an extremely talented driver, who unfortunately never had the chance to be in a top team with a car that would have helped him show the extent of his talent,” adds Charles Leclerc, who will remember Jules Bianchi for the rest of his life for “his kindness and determination with which he tried to achieve his goals”.

Source Article : https://www.sports.fr/auto-moto/f1/jules-bianchi-hommages-et-emotion-936397.html