Latest update: "Critical but stable" (FIA statement to the BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/29503730 please log in to view this image (Image courtesy of wtf1.co.uk) Marussia driver Jules Bianchi was injured in a crash that occurred on the 44th lap of the Japanese Grand Prix when his car aquaplaned under braking at the Dunlop hairpin. He left the track at speed and narrowly avoided multiple marshals attending to the recovery of Adrian Sutil's Sauber, which had gone off under similar circumstances shortly beforehand. He hit a mobile crane, which was in the process of reversing in order to pick up Sutil's car. The crash was exacerbated by the fact that his car skipped over the gravel traps and was unable to slow down, causing him to hit the crane at around 200kph. The race was immediately red flagged as Bianchi was rushed to the nearby Mie General Hospital by ambulance, where he remains. A CT scan revealed serious head injuries, which were operated upon, after which he was moved to intensive care. It is believed as of this writing that he is still on life support and that earlier reports that he is breathing unaided are false. A member of Ferrari's young driver academy, Bianchi has been a part of F1 for four years now as a test driver for Ferrari and Force India, but only received a race seat at Marussia last year after finishing as runner-up in the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 season. Though hampered by a slow car which was suited only to race fellow back-markers Caterham, he nevertheless became a fan favourite, with his performances frequently catching the eye. He followed this by impressing in testing for Ferrari's works team, and scored his and Marussia's first ever points with a well-fought ninth-place finish at Monaco earlier this year. Following this, he was linked with the seat at Ferrari which has now gone to Sebastian Vettel. The F1 community has come together as one to support Bianchi, with many drivers going to visit him in hospital and teams stating their support for him in his battle against his injuries. The hashtag #ForzaJules quickly began to trend on both Twitter and Facebook as fans sent their best wishes to Bianchi and his family - a heartwarming sign that despite personal battles the F1 fanbase is as strong and compassionate as ever. His team, Marussia F1, have released a statement thanking everyone for the support they have received, and asking them to be "patient" regarding future updates on Bianchi's condition, which is still believed to be critical. Many of the team have stayed behind in Japan to look after him and await updates on his condition. It is not known at this time whether this will affect the running of the inaugural Russian Grand Prix, which is scheduled for this weekend, or if Marussia will be participating. This thread will be updated with any new information that comes to light regarding Bianchi's condition (provided it is reliably sourced), and is also an opportunity to collate our best wishes as a forum. Also, while I cannot find a French equivalent, the charity Headway do great work in the UK with people and their families who suffer from brain injuries. If you would like to donate, you can do so at this link: https://www.headway.org.uk/donate/donation-amount.aspx It's been twenty years since the last fatality at a Grand Prix weekend and I want it to be at least twenty more. Keep fighting Jules. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UPDATE 07/10/14 - 15:00 please log in to view this image diffuse axonal injury - http://www.brainandspinalcord.org/traumatic-brain-injury-types/diffuse-axonal-injury/index.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One final note: videos and images of the crash have been circulating the internet. I would not wish to stop people from discussing them but I would ask that people please keep potentially unsettling videos and images inside [nsfw] tags if at all possible. I apologise for the PC brigadism but this is the sort of thing plenty of people are keen not to watch and it's not that hard to throw up a spoiler tag. Thank you.
Sutil says Bianchi hit tractor sideways, and there's shots of the heli taking off for the nearest hospital.
Gary Hartstein ‏@former_f1doc 45s46 seconds ago If there's no champagne its very bad. That was my code to the tower that it was ****ful on-scene. No champagne on the podium
[NSFW] please log in to view this image please log in to view this image [/NSFW] Looks like you can see Bianchi's car just behind the barriers. Not good.
Gary Hartstein ‏@former_f1doc 27s28 seconds ago The rapidity of the helicopter evac is extremely worrying. About as worried as i can be about what the hospital is going to announce. Martin Brundle retweeted Sky Sports F1 ‏@SkySportsF1 51s52 seconds ago UPDATE: Bianchi is unconscious and is being transferred to hospital by ambulance. The medical helicopter unable to fly. More on #SkyF1. Gary Hartstein ‏@former_f1doc 9s9 seconds ago Only reasons to evac this fast are isolated severe head injury, severe hemorrhagic shock, or need for ongoing CPR
They tried and couldn't, which is even more worrying I'd have thought as it'll elongate the transfer time. Presumably Hartstein not aware the heli couldn't fly.
He shouldn't be putting out information that he does not know to be true. Kavitz said the helicopter wasn't even at the circuit as it couldn't fly in this morning, though I thought the helicopter HAD to be at the circuit for the race to take place.
"Fake Charlie Whiting" on twitter has just said the same thing, helicopter should be at track and conditions good enough to fly for a session to run. They delayed practice at Austin last year because everything wasn't in place.
