But, though he lies in a coma in a French hospital, his fellow drivers have not forgot Jules Bianchi.
Welcome to the Australian Grand Prix edition of Pit Talk.
QUALIFYING: HAMILTON TAKES POLE IN AUSTRALIA
AS IT HAPPENED: F1 QUALIFYING DAY AT ALBERT PARK
FIGHTBACK KID: RICCIARDO OVERCOMES WOES FOR SEVENTH
WINNERS & LOSERS: AUSTRALIAN F1 QUALIFYING
F1’S MISSING MAN REMEMBERED
2015 should have been Jules Bianchi’s big chance. After busting his hump for two seasons in a tailender team, the Frenchman’s Ferrari connections would ensure a move up the grid to the Sauber team for the new season.
The plan tragically went wrong on October 5, 2014.
161 days later, the Formula 1 fraternity lines up on the grid at Albert Park without him. Bianchi still lies in a coma in a French hospital from the injuries sustained in his horrific crash during the Japanese Grand Prix.
His family is still holding out hope that, one day, he will wake up.
“Jules is still in a coma. As long as he does not wake up, the only thing we can do is wait,” his father Philippe told Gazetto dello Sport (translated by motorsport.com).
“It takes patience, a lot of patience, but it is difficult to know that at any moment a terrible call could be coming from the hospital. We have to be strong, like Jules and for Jules.
“As long as he is in this state, the doctors cannot say anything. He might wake up or he might not. I think he will, as he has not fought with us this long for nothing.”
Bianchi’s presence has not been forgot by the F1 paddock. Though they remained silent in the garage all weekend, the Manor cars were entirely devoid of sign-writing, but for a simple tribute to their fallen friend.
The sidelined Fernando Alonso, too, issued this tweet a couple of hours after qualifying finished.
Philippe also revealed the family may take legal action if investigations show that someone should be held accountable over Jules’s crash.
“We’ve hired a lawyer who is currently extensively studying what exactly happened last October, and I’m waiting on his conclusions and advice to decide a future course of action,” Philippe told Gazetta dello Sport (translated by f1i.com).
“What happened at Suzuka was not normal, and if it appears that someone must be held accountable, then they will be without question.”
SEBASTIAN, MEET EVA; EVA, MEET SEBASTIAN
A clear sign has emerged of Sebastian Vettel’s happiness in his move to the Ferrari team: he has named his chassis.
It used to be one of his traditions at Red Bull, cars with nicknames like ‘Luscious Liz’, ‘Kate’s Dirty Sister’, and ‘Hungry Heidi’ carrying him to four world championships.
He didn’t get along too well with ‘Suzie’, the car he started 2014 with, and is not believed to have named the chassis that replaced her midway through the season.
His first Ferrari, however, he has dubbed ‘Eva’, a subtle hint to his new beginning with the legendary Italian team.
“Well, I guess the biblical associations are pretty obvious — and it’s my first year with Ferrari,” he told F1.com.
“But the funny dimension is that my race engineer’s surname is Adami — so that spoke even more for choosing Eva and dismissing all other names that where on the list! We had a pretty good laugh at the meeting where we decided the name!”
NEW SPONSOR RENEWS AN OLD TIE FOR FORCE INDIA
In a twist of fate, the owner of Force India’s new sponsor Hype Energy Drinks is one of the team’s former drivers, and he just happens to be most famous for unintentionally giving a future world champion his big break in F1 ... by being sent to jail!
Jordan, the team that would later transform into Force India, made its F1 debut in 1991 with Bertrand Gachot as one of its pilots. The Luxembourg-born driver would actually score the team’s first points in Canada and set the fastest lap of the race in Hungary, but that would prove to be his last drive for the team.
Gachot was jailed in Britain prior to the next race, a judge sentencing him to two years on charges relating to using CS gas on an angry taxi driver during a dispute over a small traffic accident.
He would eventually be freed after two months, but Jordan needed a driver for the next race at Spa. Enter one Michael Schumacher, with Mercedes doing a deal with Jordan to put the young German in the seat. It’s now history that he qualified seventh, right on the heels of the top teams, launching his decorated career.
Gachot’s career never reached the same heights following his release, but he astutely bought into an energy drink company long before the boom started at the turn of the millennium.
“I am proud for Hype Energy drinks to sponsor the team I used to race with over 20 years ago!” Gachot said. “I loved working with its team members and I’m thrilled to meet them again.
“I’m also excited because Hype has a long history in motorsports and lifestyle sponsorship. As the team’s supplier of Energy drinks over the last three years, this is a natural progression of our business collaboration.”
F1 TACKLES ITS SOCIAL ISSUES
If you happened to hear a loud thud on Thursday afternoon, that was the collective sound of dozens of F1 journalists jaws dropping onto desks over what they just saw on Twitter.
The official F1 account had tweeted a video. And not just any video, but a specially cut package showing off Bernie Ecclestone’s personal best moment of F1 racing.
What caught everyone by surprise is that F1 has traditionally shunned social media, largely because there is no profit to be drawn from it yet.
However this video, plus a string of other tweeted information over the course of the race weekend, indicates the tide might finally be turning.
Give the official Formula 1 Twitter account a follow @F1.
HOW TO GET THE FULL ATTENTION OF THE ENTIRE F1 PADDOCK
As the little hand on the clock neared 4pm on Friday afternoon, most of the people in the F1 paddock were either busy fettling the cars in the garages ahead of the second practice session, or busy schmoozing in their hospitality facilities in the paddock behind.
And then along came an FA-18.
The eardrum-shattering noise made by the fighter jet as it did a high-speed low pass over the circuit caught absolutely everyone by surprise, with people flooding out into the open area of the paddock to see what on earth was going on.
That included most teams’ mechanics, who downed tools to have a watch as the Royal Australian Air Force’s fastest aircraft did its thing.
Several drivers also popped their heads out, including both Manor drivers Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi, as well as high-profile rookie Max Verstappen.
Most stayed outside — fingers in ears, necks craned backward, eyes fixed on the skies — until it flew back to base at the end of its display.
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