F1 Madness

Tag: philippe bianchi

  • Jules Bianchi Update: Condition ‘more terrible than if he had died,’ says his father

    Jules Bianchi Update: Condition ‘more terrible than if he had died,’ says his father

    Jules Bianchi’s father, Philippe, has admitted that he is becoming a lot less optimistic about the chances of his son recovering from the injuries suffered during a horrific crash at last year’s Japanese Grand Prix.

    Jules Bianchi remains in a coma at a hospital in Nice, nine months after his horrific collision with a recovery vehicle at the grand prix at Suzuka and his father describes the situation as one that his putting the Bianchi family through “daily torture”.

    Bianchi suffered severe brain injuries in the crash and his family have remained hopeful, remaining at his bedside, but his father wass a lot less optimistic in an interview with France Info, a local radio station.

    “It’s unbearable, it’s a daily torture,” Philippe Bianchi told the radio station. “We sometimes feel like we’re going crazy, because for me, it certainly is more terrible than if he had died. For we’re not able to help him more than we can.

    Jules Bianchi“Time goes by and I am now less optimistic than I may have been two or three months after the crash, when we could hope for a better evolution. At some point, you need to be well-grounded and realise how serious the situation is.”

    Bianchi, who was driving for Marussia and was part of Ferrari’s young driver programme, has not made any significant progress in his recovery. His father went on to say that waking up from the coma would lead to further complications as he struggles with a conversation he had with Jules following Michael Schumacher’s skiing accident in December 2013.

    “If he finds himself with huge disabilities, we’re pretty sure it’s not at all what Jules would want. We had talked about it. He told us that if he were to have an accident similar to Michael Schumacher’s, if he were even just not to be able to drive anymore, it would be very hard for him to accept it. Because it was his life.”

    We all continue to hope for a full recover for Jules and our thoughts remain with the Bianchi family throughout their struggle.

    #ForzaJules

  • Jules Bianchi update

    Jules Bianchi update

    Philippe Bianchi, father of Jules Bianchi, has provided an update on Jules’ current medical situation, as well as voiced his anger around the FIA investigation which blames his son for the horror crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

    The 25-year old Bianchi remains in a coma in Nice more than six months after that terrible day at Suzuka. His father agreed to an interview with a local Nice newspaper “out of respect for all the people who continue to send Jules their beautiful wishes, encouragement and affection every day”.

    He did however admit that there is very little to report about Jules’ progress medically.

    “The only thing we can say is that he fights with force and with the same strength that he has always fought with, before and after the accident,” Bianchi told the local Nice-Matin newspaper.

    “Every day, Jules does a marathon. From a medical point of view, his condition is stable. He is fairly autonomous — no physical problems.

    “All of his organs are working without assistance. But for now, he remains unconscious.”

    When asked whether neurosurgeons are seeing any improvement in Bianchi’s brain state, he admitted that this is something that will take a very long time, “For this kind of trauma, we know the evolution is very slow,” he said.

    Jules Bianchi“But compared to what the Japanese professor who operated on him told us, it is already night and day. There, when we arrived to see Jules, there was no hope. There was talk of irreversible damage.

    “It was said he could not be transferred before one year, but it was done after seven weeks, as Jules quickly began to breathe again on his own.

    “Now, the doctors tell us there is no specific intervention they can do. Most important is to stimulate Jules so that he feels a constant presence at his side.

    “So we take turns every day — his mother, his sister, his brother and me. He also has his German girlfriend, Gina, who lives here now,” Philippe told Nice-Matin.

    “From time to time, at his bedside, we see that things are happening. Sometimes he is more active, he moves more, squeezes our hand, but is it mere reflex or is it real?

    “Hard to know,” Mr Bianchi said.

    He said it continues to be a terrible time within the Bianchi family, a “daily torture”.

    “Our universe collapsed on 5 October 2014. The questions that no one can answer now: will he make it? If so, will he be disabled or can he live normally? I think that in this type of accident, it hits harder than a death. The suffering is relentless. A daily torture,” Bianchi explained.

    “To those people who think of him, I want to thank each one and tell them that we will give news when there is any, good or bad.”

    When asked about the FIA investigation which placed blame on Jules Bianchi for the horror crash, Philippe was furious.

    “It was an internal investigation,” he abruptly replied. “Only those who were involved were engaged.

    “Regarding this, I have nothing new to say,” Mr Bianchi continued. “Very good people are involved now to defend the interests of Jules.

    “If someone is responsible some day, he will have to pay. Frankly, I’m too upset to talk about it. I prefer to focus my energy on Jules now”.

    Our thoughts remain with Jules Bianchi, his father Phillipe and his family, friends and fellow race drivers. Keep fighting, young man! #ForzaJules