Fernando Alonso describes the ninth place Jules Bianchi scored in Monaco for Marussia in 2014 as "some kind of miracle".
Bianchi finished eighth on track after a chaotic race, with a time penalty demoting him to ninth at the chequered flag. However, it was Marussia's first points and ensured the team now known as Manor finished ninth in the constructors' championship.
With Bianchi in hospital in Nice after suffering severe head injuries in a crash in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, Alonso says it is difficult to overstate the Frenchman's achievement from 12 months ago.
"I think it’s hard to understand when you are in a car that is not competitive, to get some points is some kind of miracle," Alonso said. "It’s what Jules did last year and ninth place and to come here again and not see him together with us on the gird is very sad."
And Alonso admits it is even more difficult thinking of Bianchi in Monaco as he recalls the success of 2014.
"It’s not only here that we remember him, it’s also at every weekend, but here is a little bit more difficult to understand the destiny or to understand the things that happened last year. He is in Nice, so he is half an hour away and hopefully he can feel from all of us some extra power that we send him."
The Manor team are all wearing wristbands marking Bianchi's result during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend.
Wristbands being worn by all the Manor team this weekend, remembering Bianchi's P9 from last year #F1 pic.twitter.com/7iJivXUhdZ
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) May 20, 2015
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