Jules Bianchi - always in our hearts

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It was on this day in 2015 that young F1 hopeful Jules Bianchi succumbed to the injuries he had sustained in a freak crash while competing in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

The talented 25-year-old had been one of the rising stars of Formula 1, and a mentor to Charles Leclerc during the Monegasque's formative years in motorsport.

Bianchi was the first driver to die as a result of injuries sustained in an accident in a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 21 years, since Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994.

The investigation into the Frenchman's accident - a result of treacherous conditions at Suzuka that led to the French driver veering off course and colliding with a recovery vehicle - sparked a number of safety improvements such as the introduction of the Virtual Safety Car, and it also contributed to the introduction of the Halo cockpit protection system.

Bianchi had competed in just 34 F1 races by the time of his accident - all with minnow outfit Marussia. But the Ferrari protégé was on course for a stellar career as a Grand Prix driver.

Jules will never be forgotten and his car number, 17, has been permanently retired in his memory by Formula 1.

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.