This week, we witnessed the complicated and wet circuit of Suzuka, Japan. With a typhoon on the way, the race was still scheduled for 3pm, the same time the typhoon was predicted to hit, and it did hit with rain coming down in buckets. the track was soaking and the race started under the safety car, until lap 3, when the race was red flagged for concerns over driver visibility and car control, with Marcus Ericsson spinning off under the safety car, not even completing a lap.
After 20 minutes, the race was continued and we were treated to some amazing moves, dangerous in the rain and risky on the tight corners. Hamilton took the lead from Rosberg and the Red Bulls battled with the McLaren driver, Jenson Button. The cars were eventually put on the intermediate tyres, proving the track was beginning to dry at a nice speed, but they were not prepared for the downpour that started on lap 40. at lap 42, Sauber driver Adrian Sutil, span off into the barriers at Turn 7, resulting in double yellow flags being waved at the corner. But no one saw what would cause the red flags, the Marussia driver Jules Bianchi. Bianchi had crashed into the tractor, being used for the extraction of the Sauber, resulting in a worried called from his team being answered by silence.
Jules Bianchi is 25 years old, a current Marussia driver and part of the Ferrari young drivers program and his collision at 110mph into a tractor, has left him hospitalised.
Watching the race live at 7am, the hours past slowly after the news that Bianchi had to be driven to the nearest hospital, 40 minutes away. For hours fans were left with no news, and my other half and I thought the worse. Marco Mattiachi was among the flock of people who followed Bianchi’s movement to the hospital, with everyone desperately waiting for news, when at last, after 2 hours of waiting, we were told. Jules Bianchi had suffered severe head injuries and was taken into surgery and now remains in a stable but critical state. Since then his injuries have been confirmed as Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI) and is the most devastating of head injuries, Michael Schumacher had suffered a similar injury after his ski accident in 2013. A statement from the Bianchi family made it clear that recovery is unlikely from DAI, but have the best neurosurgeon on the case as Bianchi has been in intensive care for the past 3 days since the race. The accident is confirmed to be just ‘bad luck’ and official claims the added downpour of rain had nothing to do with the fate of Bianchi.
The fate of Jules Bianchi is unknown right now, but I hope he stays strong throughout this and makes it. Best wishes to the Bianchi family, my thoughts are with you.