Formula One says farewell to Bianchi

Bianchi, 25, died in a Nice hospital on Friday after suffering critical head injuries when he skidded off the track and hit a recovery tractor in last October’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Many F1 drivers were in attendance at the ceremony, including former world champions Alain Prost, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel, along with current champion Lewis Hamilton. Two large portraits of the Frenchman hung outside the cathedral. “F1 is a complicated profession, often you can lose touch with reality – he always knew how to remain humble, nice with everybody and that made him different from the others”, his manager Nicolas Todt, the son of FIA president Jean Todt, said.

His funeral was held on Tuesday morning at Sainte Reparate Cathedral in Nice shortly after 10am local time.

With The Eagles’ haunting 1970s anthem “Hotel California” playing in the background, the coffin was carried up the cathedral’s central aisle, as loud applause rang out.

Nico Rosberg, Felipe Massa and Daniel Ricciardo attended Bianchi’s funeral, with the latter posting a picture alongside his grand prix peers holding a beer. He succumbed to his severe head injuries on Friday, becoming the first F1 driver since Aryton Senna in 1994 to die from race-related injuries.

Born in Nice in 1989 to Italian parents, Bianchi had racing in his blood. He had been in a coma for nine months following an accident at the Japanese Grand Prix past year. Bianchi’s father Philippe was seen crying outside the cathedral. His great-uncle Lucien competed in 17 Grands Prix before he was killed in a crash in 1969 at the age of 34.

Formula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, announced that vehicle number 17 would no longer be used in the Formula One World Championship, in memory of Bianchi. It is also expected that the grid will observe a one-minute silence ahead of Sunday’s race at the Hungaroring.