Formula One stars at funeral of driver Jules Bianchi

The popular 25-year-old was laid to rest after he passed away on Saturday morning following injuries he sustained in his crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

Bianchi is the first driver to die of injuries sustained in an F1 race since three-time world champion Ayrton Senna and Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger were killed at the 1994 San Marino GP.

Luc Alphand, a former French Alpine skier who then switched sports and drove in the Dakar Rally, said on BFMTV that “when destiny strikes in this way, it’s truly terrible”. “But we must race on and race hard for Jules – as he would have wanted to be doing himself”.

But while some may have held a feeling of optimism for Bianchi’s chances of survival on the grid in Sochi, there will be no mistaking the fact that F1 is a sport in mourning this weekend. “You just think about your job”.

After the accident, a 396-page report found Bianchi had failed to slow down sufficiently under double yellow flags, as well as recommending a host of changes, including the “virutal safety car”, which slows the drivers in treacherous conditions.

“He was a very talented driver and a good guy”.

Bianchi was a much-liked driver in the sometimes edgy and brittle F1 championship. Below is a selection.

“He will stay a champion forever in our hearts”. “We shared the track together and he’s not (here) anymore”. It’s shocking.

In 2009, he survived life-threatening head injuries in an accident during qualifying at the Hungaroring and bounced back, after a long recovery period, to extend his career with Ferrari and, now, Williams. “We miss him and we will miss him forever”. But it’s something we don’t want to ever see in the sport and it’s really hard to grasp the sheer magnitude of it. There was no window into their personal lives that allowed you to get to know them off the track or see who they were friends with in the paddock. It’s very hard for all of us.

Hopeful the low speed Hungaroring will not expose the lack of power from his Honda engine, Button said: “It should suit us much more in terms of the layout of the circuit”.

“He was humble and left a big impact on the world”.

“It’s been tough obviously, for everyone who knew Jules, everyone in F1”.

Romain Grosjean says drivers will still race “100 percent” despite Jules Bianchi’s tragic death, the result of a grand prix crash. He was a real reference for us. He won everywhere. “I will never forget”. When I met him, he was still racing go-karts. “He was an unbelievable boy and a fantastic driver”.

With this auto number, the late driver raced 15 times in 2014.

“Finishing in the points in Monaco, with vehicle he was driving, was an unbelievable thing. But now, I have Jules all the time on my mind”.

“He has been my teammate twice – I remember in 2008, my second year in F3 and supposed to win the championship, and he came in as a rookie, I remember a race in Mugello”.