Jules Bianchi

[chillibowl]

A life too short. Rip.

[fieldodreams79]

Just saw this a little while ago and I am saddened to hear of this news. RIP Jules and condolences to the family and friends.

[Born Racer]

Very sad news, of course. My thoughts are with all his loved ones. Hopefully safety measures have been learned.

[wnut]

Horrible tragedy, sad loss of a future champion, RIP Jules.

[BobHWS]

I'll remember Jules Bianchi as one of the five drivers who took time out of their busy schedules to participate in the public driver forum on Thursday evening of the 2013 Montreal race weekend. He was the kind of young, modest, fan-friendly driver that F1 needs more of, and he will be missed by everyone in the sport.

[JeremySmith]

Deeply saddened by the passing of this bright star ..

RIP Jules ....

[Born Racer]

I always thought he came across as one of the relaxed Grand Prix drivers off the track, who didn't need to carry any intensity with him to be competitive as a performer. An observant point has been made already in this thread about Alonso being one of the only others in recent years to have looked a standout in an uncompetitive car.

Before Jules made it to F1, it was sometimes thought his talent could do better, so it was a delight to see him deliver on his promise when he did arrive, his Monaco points being more than just attrition-generated.

He could have ended up at Ferrari next year. As motor racing always can, it has claimed another and I at least think that the particular circumstances of the way it did have been learnt from.

Anyway, I think this thread is more about Jules rather than anything has. Nice to read such words from people on the forum.

[m355y]

I think Bianchi had all the ingredients to be a top driver. Agree with the point above that he was one of the very - very- few drivers in a really uncompetitive car to stand out. Drivers of the calibre of Lucas Di Grassi, GP2 winners like D'Ambrosio, Van Der Garde, Pic etc, all looked bloody useless behind the wheel of a Marussia or Caterham, then there's Max Chilton who for all he wasn't the most talented racing driver of all time, was another GP2 winner - and Jules absolutely destroyed him, virtually every session, every single lap in 2013 and 2014. Kicked his arse. Was visibly more 'on it' with this fluid style, scored points in a Marussia. He did everything, across two seasons, to earn a better drive but instead fate intervened. It's a familiar enough scenario, but not one we expect to deal with in this day and age. He'd have been great in a Sauber this season, but we'll never know what might have been. He was seriously good.

[spider]

My favourite driver due to my weird interest in the Marussia / caterham ding dong.

I remember when it first came up with his name with that long shot and there were no replays...after what happened with the onboard senna footage I knew it was bad and was already ridiculously anxious - hence my rant on here at the time of that part Ben Edwards signing off in positive mood on a Hamilton win...idiot.

Utterly devastating and as someone who showed a huge interest in his Marussia drives he did a unbelievable job, after taking Razia's ride so late in the day for 2013.

Admired a driver with such junior calibre racing in that Marussia team for two years and at all times being a positive influence on that team.

His Monaco drive was far from his best, as some of his really strong outings were on his way to a 'victory' of the new teams.

Everyone speaks glowingly of him. Clearly a nice boy who was struggling to fulfill potential of title favourite every season in the junior categories - born out of us all knowing how quick he was - but was transcending his car in f1.

Devastated still. RIP

[Fogelhund]

Very sad to hear of his passing... but this is just weird and wrong.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/120039

The FIA will retire Jules Bianchi's number 17 from Formula 1

[bella]

i think in the olden days of non-allocated numbers it would have been a bit daft to retire his number.

now everyone can pick their own numbers it's still a bit knee-jerk, but looking at it from a different point of view you'd not want to be the first driver afterwards to have that number would you?

[chillibowl]

Like the gesture a lot and the precedent it sets although I hope they never have cause to do this again.

[Richard C]

I hadn't posted here yet as I didn't know what to say that hasn't already been said. But this morning I caught some photos of his funeral and with the various current and past F1 drivers in attendance. Very moving.

Richard

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Fogelhund

Very sad to hear of his passing... but this is just weird and wrong.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/120039

The FIA will retire Jules Bianchi's number 17 from Formula 1

He personally chose the number, so I can see why as a mark of respect but it is a little odd.

[Richard B]

I recall there was a lot of talk of removing number 27 when Gilles Villeneuve died. Apparently not an uncommon tradition in ice hockey and some other sports.
From wikipedia
"Such an honor may also be bestowed on players who had highly memorable careers, died prematurely under tragic circumstances,[1] or have had their promising careers ended by serious injury. Some sports that retire team numbers include baseball, cricket,[1] ice hockey, basketball, American football and association football."

Personally I agree with the idea in honour of the sportsman, and agree the number 17 should be removed from F1 in memory of Jules.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Richard B

I recall there was a lot of talk of removing number 27 when Gilles Villeneuve died. Apparently not an uncommon tradition in ice hockey and some other sports.
From wikipedia
"Such an honor may also be bestowed on players who had highly memorable careers, died prematurely under tragic circumstances,[1] or have had their promising careers ended by serious injury. Some sports that retire team numbers include baseball, cricket,[1] ice hockey, basketball, American football and association football."

Personally I agree with the idea in honour of the sportsman, and agree the number 17 should be removed from F1 in memory of Jules.

They used to do that in the NFL, for players with an outstanding career but stopped it because they thought they'd run out of numbers, especially for QBs, Running Backs and Wide Receivers as they were the players that usually were honored.

[Mekola]

I do not agree with the retirement of the number, despite it started to be common in the motor racing series where drivers with allocated numbers had died in tragic accidents i. e. #96 retired for Guido Falaschi in Argentine TRV6, despite he died in a Turismo Carretera event.