Ten years ago, Jules Bianchi was involved in a tragic accident in Suzuka that shook the Formula 1 world to its core. However, the tragedy also triggered life-saving changes in motorsport.
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- Jules Bianchi had a serious accident at the Japanese GP on October 5, 2014 and succumbed to his injuries nine months later. His death led to safety debates in Formula 1.
- The accident could possibly have been avoided as the safety car was not deployed in time and Bianchi was apparently instructed to drive faster.
- Bianchi's death led to the introduction of Halo head protection and the virtual safety car, which have since saved other drivers from similar accidents.
Jules Bianchi was considered an up-and-coming talent and was about to make a name for himself in Formula 1 when the 25-year-old Frenchman had a serious accident in adverse weather conditions at the Japanese GP on October 5, 2014. A typhoon had flooded the track, but the race went ahead despite the difficult conditions.
When German driver Adrian Sutil lost control of his Sauber in turn 7 and crashed into the barriers, race control decided not to deploy the safety car and instead opted for yellow flags. One lap later, tragedy struck: Marussia driver Bianchi also lost control and crashed at over 200 km/h into a recovery vehicle that was supposed to rescue Sutil's car.
Who is responsible?
The forces acting on his head were devastating - 254 G, 254 times his body weight. Bianchi was taken to hospital seriously injured and placed in an induced coma, but over nine months later, on July 17, 2015, he succumbed to his injuries.
Bianchi's death was the first in Formula 1 since the tragic weekend at Imola in 1994, in which Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger lost their lives.
After Bianchi's accident, a wave of recriminations began. The FIA blamed him for not slowing down enough. His team is even said to have instructed him by radio to keep up the pace, even though yellow flags were waved. The Bianchi family, above all his father Philippe, rejected these accusations and sued the FIA, Formula 1 and the Marussia team in 2016. However, the case never came to trial.
However, Bianchi's tragic fate led to decisive safety improvements in Formula 1. Two measures that have been introduced since then could potentially have saved his life.
Halo and virtual safety car
Firstly, the halo, a titanium bar that protects the driver's head, was introduced in 2018 against the opposition of many team bosses and drivers. Zhou Guanyu's accident at the 2022 British GP showed just how important this protection is: Zhou survived unharmed, despite his car skidding headfirst across the asphalt at over 200 km/h. Experts agree that he would have been seriously injured without the halo.
Secondly, the virtual safety car was introduced, which drastically reduces the speed in the event of an accident without a real safety car having to enter the track. This measure came into force earlier in the season after Bianchi's accident and would probably have saved his life, as it immediately reduces the speed at dangerous points.
For the Bianchi family, it is a small consolation that his death has made Formula 1 safer. His legacy lives on by preventing future tragedies. Philippe Bianchi said after Zhou's accident: "Zhou's life saved is the positive thing about Jules' tragedy."