Jules Bianchi 1989 - 2015

In March 2013, a young Frenchman made his Formula 1 race debut for the Marussia F1 Team. He was a Ferrari Driver Academy graduate, who had earlier been in the running for a Force India drive but ended up with the small Marussia team, partnering Britain's Max Chilton. He was a polite and handsome guy, a lovely guy to talk to and with a great sense of humor. On top of all that, he was one hell of a racing driver. His name, was Jules Bianchi.

Jules won the 2007 French Formula Renault 2.0 title before making his international debut in 2008 in the Formula 3 Euro Series with ART Grand Prix. He claimed two victories that year to finish 3rd in the championship, before claiming the Euro F3 title the following year, holding the points lead for the entire season.

Bianchi didn't take victory in the prestigious Macau Grand Prix, after being involved in a first lap crash in the qualification race, but just a few days after, Ferrari announced he would be given a test in the 2009 F60. He then moved up to GP2, joining ART midway through the 2009/10 Asia series before making his debut in the main GP2 series in 2010.

It was a difficult debut campaign for the Frenchman, who also suffered some back injuries after a crash at the Hungaroring, eventually finishing his first season in GP2 in third place, the championship being won by Pastor Maldonado.

2011 saw Jules first,and ultimately only win, in the GP2 series. It came at the Silverstone feature race, in a battle that has been watched many thousands of times on YouTube since, a battle between himself and now Mercedes DTM driver, Christian Vietoris.

It was a race where Jules showed off his brilliant race-craft. The two of them were in a league of their own, and Vietoris put Jules under massive pressure in what was a damp race. Into Stowe, Vietoris managed to go around the outside of Bianchi, but into Vale Jules dived back down the inside and into the lead. He eventually won the race, and it was his only victory in the GP2 series. He finished third in the championship again.

In 2012 Jules managed to get his foot into the F1 door, becoming Force India's reserve driver, the teams main drivers being Paul Di Resta and Nico Hulkenburg. He took part in nine FP1 outings for the team, impressing them with his speed and work ethic, and for his racing campaign, he joined Tech 1 in Formula Renault 3.5.

He finished 2nd in his first race but was disqualified for a technical infringement, his car failed to start the second race and after taking a drive through penalty as a consequence of the issue, he finished 13th. However in Monaco he scored his first podium in FR 3.5, finished 2nd to Sam Bird, the pair of them half a minute ahead of the rest of the field.

He claimed his first victory at the Nuburgring, a track where an error cost him another GP2 victory the previous year. Alongside FR 3.5 racing duties, he racked up plenty of mileage for the Force India team, and drove for Ferrari at the 2012 young driver's test in Magny-Cour. Jules had always dreamed of driving for Ferrari, and every outing he had for the team was very special.

Bianchi claimed three FR 3.5 victories to put him in contention at the final race of the season in Barcelona. Sadly, he didn't take the title, a collision with other contender Robin Frijns put Jules out of the race. Frijns was given a 25 second time penalty due to causing it, but he still won the title by four points.

As the 2013 F1 season drew closer, Force India had yet to decide on a driver to partner Paul Di Resta. Jules and former Force India driver Adrian Sutil were in contention, Sutil eventually getting the nod. Jules though was not left out in the cold. Luiz Razia had claimed the second Marussia seat alongside Max Chilton, but funding issues meant the team cut their ties with him, and Jules stepped in to join Chilton for 2013.

He had already impressed his team and rival squads during pre-season testing and in the first race in Melbourne, however in Malaysia, he took a brilliant 13th place for Marussia, a result that neither he, Chilton, or the Caterham squad could better during the year, and this secured 10th place in the constructors championship for Marussia come the end of the year, their first top ten finish in the championship.

Jules finest hour though came the following year, in Monaco. After a difficult start for Marussia in F1's new hybrid-turbo era, things came good for them in the principality, after a positive post race test in Barcelona. In a race where the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg reached breaking point, Marussia and Jules stole the show, taking 9th place and both their first ever points in Formula 1, an almighty performance, and something which many people deemed impossible for one of the young teams that entered the sport back in 2010.

As the year went on, neither Sauber nor Caterham could get anywhere near the points, and Marussia held on to 9th place in the constructors. At the Singapore Grand Prix, Jules took his final checkered flag in the sport in 16th place, ahead of team-mate Chilton and just a few tenths behind Caterham's Marcus Ericsson. It was the last time Jules finished a Grand Prix...

We all know what happened on that horrible day at Suzuka, as the race entered its final ten or so laps. We all know what Adrian Sutil saw and felt as he walked away from the accident. We all know how each and everyone of us felt when we heard the news that Jules was in a coma, with serious head injuries after his accident at the Dunlop Curves. We all held hope for him, he was in our thoughts at the Russian Grand Prix and throughout the rest of the season. And we all knew that he had saved his team, that despite Marussia entering administration, they were to be reborn in 2015 as Manor Marussia, and carry #JB17 on the cars. Steven Fitzpatrick, Graeme Lowdon and John Booth know its thanks to Jules, they can carry on racing in his honor.

Jules passing just two days ago hit everyone in motorsport and in the sporting world hard. His family had gone through torture for nine months, and he sadly lost his fight, a fight we were all praying he would win. We all mourn his loss, but at the same time we remember an incredible young man, who's smile we all loved, who's kindness and sense of humor was felt throughout the paddock, who's charm and personality was a joy to see in an F1 where personalities are so often lacking and we remember a racer, a racer who fought to the bitter end, gave so much in his sport, wowed us for many years, and who we all knew was destined for greater things. Above all else, we will remember one of the most talented racing drivers of modern Formula 1. Au revoir Jules. Sleep well.