Formula One will always be dangerous – Ecclestone

Bianchi, 25, died in hospital in Nice, southern France, on Friday after nine months in a coma following his horrific accident at the Japanese Grand Prix last October. Christine and Philippe Bianchi announced yesterday that their son’s funeral will take place at the Sainte-Réparate cathedral in Nice tomorrow morning.

“Of course it’s unsafe”, he said of the sport.

Bianchi is the first driver who died from injuries sustained in a Grand Prix Arena since the legendary Ayrton Senna’s death following an accident at San Marino in 1994.

“Jules fought right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle came to an end”.

The sport has lost one of the most talented drivers of this generation, from a family that has such a strong presence in the history of the sport. “They recognised, as did we, that at the same time as being a fiercely motivated racer, he was also an extremely warm, humble and intensely likeable person, who lit up our garage and our lives”.

The Marussia driver, popular and tipped for a stellar future after coming through the Ferrari academy, skidded off the track in wet conditions and fading light while yellow warning flags were being waved to tell drivers to slow down.

A number of safety measures have been introduced since the crash at Suzuka but drivers, teams and fans still want faster cars and Ecclestone sees no reason why plans to decrease laptimes by up to six seconds in 2017 shouldn’t go ahead.

The report found that Bianchi’s auto hit the tractor at 126 kph and said medical services were not at fault in their handling of the aftermath.

“It is at occasions like this that we’re brutally reminded of how risky racing nonetheless stays”.

Bianchi competed in 34 races over the 2013 and 2014 seasons, scoring the first ever championship points for Manor – then known as Marussia – by finishing ninth at last year’s Monaco Grand Prix.

“Despite considerable improvements we, the grand prix drivers, owe it to the racing community to the lost ones and to Jules, his family and friends, to never relent in improving safety”. “What happened was just tragic”, he said. I probably thought of him every five or 10 laps, because he was a driver destined to probably be a world champion.