The parents of Formula One driver Jules Bianchi are traveling to Japan to see their son, who is in intensive care with a severe head injury after a crash during the Japanese Grand Prix.
The 25-year-old Bianchi is in critical condition at Mie General Medical Center after undergoing emergency surgery following Sunday’s crash into a trackside recovery crane.
Hospital officials declined to comment on Bianchi’s condition yesterday and the Marussia team released a statement saying it will “respect, and be guided by, the wishes of the Bianchi family” with regard to the release of information.
It is unclear when Bianchi’s parents are due to arrive in Japan.
Bianchi crashed on the 44th lap in Sunday’s rain-shortened race at the Suzuka circuit. His car went off at Turn 7, where Sauber driver Adrian Sutil had crashed two laps earlier.
Bianchi lost control of his car, traveled across the run-off area and hit the back of the tractor that was being used to remove Sutil’s car. Bianchi was unconscious when he was taken from Suzuka to the hospital.
Bianchi’s family has already paid a heavy price in motorsports. In 1969, his great-uncle, Lucien Bianchi, died in an accident during testing at the Le Mans race track when he crashed his Alfa Romeo into a post, a year after winning the prestigious endurance race.
Lucien Bianchi was regarded as one of the most talented drivers of his generation.
Jules Bianchi is also the grandson of Mauro Bianchi, a three-time world champion in the GT Sports car class.
Jules Bianchi’s father, who owns a restaurant in Southern France with his wife Christine and managed the karting track where Jules developed his driving skills, also thought about embracing a career in auto racing, but quickly gave up on the idea.
“It was too complicated because the family did not want to go through more tragedy,” Philippe Bianchi, who flew to Japan with his wife to be at his son’s bedside, told local newspaper Corse Matin in a recent interview.
While sacrificing his own hopes and personal aspirations, Philippe encouraged his son to follow his desire after noticing he was a natural on the track.
As the reigning French karting champion, Jules Bianchi won the Formula Renault 2.0 series in 2007 and became F3 Euro Series champion two years later, before being included in Ferrari’s young drivers program.
With his reputation growing, Bianchi was rewarded with a reserve driver spot for Force India’s F1 team and looked set for a race seat for last year’s season, but his hopes disappeared when Adrian Sutil returned to the team.
Bianchi’s agent, Nicolas Todt, used his connections to convince Marussia to hire him, just two weeks before the start of the season.
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