F1 Driver Suffers Severe Head Injury In GP Crash

[Jazzy]

Formula One driver Jules Bianchi is undergoing surgery after suffering a severe head injury in a crash at a wet Japanese Grand Prix.

The 25-year-old sportsman will be moved to intensive care where he will be monitored following the surgery, said world motor sport's governing body.

Bianchi lost control of his Marussia, travelled across the run-off area and hit the back of a tractor that was removing Adrian Sutil's stricken Sauber, the FIA added.

Sutil's car had "aquaplaned" off the wet track, coming off at the same turn a lap earlier and skidding into a wall.

Frenchman Bianchi was unconscious as he was transferred to hospital by road in an ambulance because the medical helicopter could not fly because of heavy rain from Typhoon Phanfone.

The driver is in a critical condition, his father reportedly said.

Typhoon rains had been forecast for the race which began behind the Safety Car - and the drivers were called back to the pits minutes later.

Following Sutil's crash, yellow flags were waved before the corner to warn drivers of the incident, according to the FIA.

The Safety Car was sent out after Bianchi's crash on lap 44 and the race was suspended two laps later with the rain getting heavier and the light rapidly deteriorating at Suzuka.

Sutil, who was not hurt in his accident, told Sky Sports F1: "The yellow flags were out after I aquaplaned at the corner as the rain got more and more.

"And one lap later with waved yellow flags Jules came around and had the same spin there.

"It was more or less the same crash, but just the outcome was a bit different."

Sutil said he felt the Safety Car should have been deployed after he crashed due to the risk of another driver going off at the corner.

"With respect to this corner I think everyone knows this is one of the most tricky corners and when it is getting late and the rain increases.

"Let's say when you have an accident there you should probably think about a Safety Car."

Williams driver Felipe Massa said "there was too much water on the track" and it was "dangerous".

He said: "In my opinion they started the race too early because it was not driveable at the beginning and they finished the race too late.

Source with video

 

[Raven]

Latest update is he is having surgery then will be moved to intensive care.

Hope he recovers.

 

[Jazzy]

Williams driver Felipe Massa said "there was too much water on the track" and it was "dangerous".

Knowing this, the drivers should have refused to race.

 

[Nyx]

He's one of my favorite drivers bags of talent if he'd just had the right car and a total sweetheart as well.

#forzajules

 

[Dee]

This is very sad and it could have been prevented had they not held the race on a WET track... >_> Apparently, the kind of brain injury he's sustained is very critical and usually doesn't end in sunshine and rainbows. My thoughts are for him and his family that he will make a recovery and not be a brain-dead vegetable.

 

[Raven]

The drivers agreed to driving in the conditions, they said that they didn't think the condititions were THAT bad. Very rarely is any race called off because of the rain. I've seen BTCC races were you literally can't see the cars on the track because of all the spray, still continued though.

 

[Jazzy]

Jules Bianchi crash: Recap on Formula 1 driver's condition throughout Thursday

 

[Raven]

I saw the video of the crash, and to be honest I don't think a closed cockpit would have helped at all.

 

[Dee]

They should not have had heavy machinery hanging around either. Chances are, if he crashed, he probably wouldn't have sustained such a traumatic head injury. If you watch the video, you can see how far under the car goes.

 

[Webster]

NBC ProSoccerTalk: Jules Bianchi dies at age 25, his family confirms

Jules Bianchi has died at age 25, his family confirmed in a statement early Saturday morning French time, some nine months after his accident in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

Bianchi suffered a diffuse axonal injury when his car veered off course at last year’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. His helmet was lodged underneath a tractor crane when the car slid underneath it.

Bianchi has been hospitalized in a coma since the accident, and while he was moved from Japan to France last November there were little to no signs of progress. As recently as this week, Bianchi’s father Philippe Bianchi called it a “daily torture” seeing the lack of recovery.

The statement released from the family reads as follows: It is with deep sadness that the parents of Jules Bianchi, Philippe and Christine, his brother Tom and sister Mélanie, wish to make it known that Jules passed away last night at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) in Nice, (France) where he was admitted following the accident of 5th October 2014 at Suzuka Circuit during the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix.

“Jules fought right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle came to an end,” said the Bianchi family. “The pain we feel is immense and indescribable. We wish to thank the medical staff at Nice’s CHU who looked after him with love and dedication. We also thank the staff of the General Medical Center in the Mie Prefecture (Japan) who looked after Jules immediately after the accident, as well as all the other doctors who have been involved with his care over the past months.

“Furthermore, we thank Jules’ colleagues, friends, fans and everyone who has demonstrated their affection for him over these past months, which gave us great strength and helped us deal with such difficult times. Listening to and reading the many messages made us realise just how much Jules had touched the hearts and minds of so many people all over the world.

“We would like to ask that our privacy is respected during this difficult time, while we try to come to terms with the loss of Jules.”

....thoughts, condolences and prayers go out to the Bianchi family...

 

[Crusader]

Super sad news. Very talented racer. It shows further improvements to safety are needed in the sport, even with the 20 year gap between deaths. I think the virtual safety car is a step in the right direction though.

 

[Jazzy]

So very sad. My thoughts and prayers go to the Bianchi family at this devastating time. F1 has lost an amazing young driver and the fans have lost a young man who was just starting to wow the fans of F1. Rest in peace Jules.

 

[DrLeftover]

F-1 clearly needs to review their inclement weather race policy.

This is what it takes to make something like that happen.

 

[Crusader]

F-1 clearly needs to review their inclement weather race policy.

This is what it takes to make something like that happen.

Races have been stopped for heavy rain. One that springs to mind is Canada 2011 when the race was paused for over two hours due to the rain.

 

[DrLeftover]

Yes.

But this happened last year, and the rain wasn't that heavy.

 

[Jazzy]

Yes.

But this happened last year, and the rain wasn't that heavy.

It was according to the crash article from last year. Here's the article.

 

[DrLeftover]

I guess it's just hard to tell from the video, but I'll take the other driver's word for it.

In any case, F1 needs to make some decisions and STICK TO THEM!