Philippe Bianchi took the opportunity of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix to give the latest update on his son Jules’ health, one year on from his superb drive to secure P9 and Marussia’s maiden points in F1.

The 25-year-old Frenchman has been in a coma since he sustained serious head injuries in a horrific crash at Suzuka last October. Although he admits the situation has not improved, Bianchi's father stills holds on to the hope that a miracle can happen.

“Today we are in a situation where it stagnates, because Jules' neurological evolutions aren't what we would like them to be,” Bianchi Sr told French broadcaster Canal+.

“Each night, we sleep with the telephone close to us. And when we get up in the morning, we think about Jules' life, but also about death, because we have to in a situation where we know a lot of things can happen to him. It's terrible.

“The first thing, is that Jules is alive, and I think that's the most important for us. He's fighting, that’s for sure, with the tools he has, his physical strength mostly.

“I'm not sure he has the power to do a lot of things on the neurological level, but it's clear that to see him fighting gives us a lot of courage. It's important for us, and as long as there is life, there is hope, even though we have to wait for a miracle after such a violent hit.

"Each day is difficult, but equally with each day passing by, we say to ourselves that he's still alive, and it gives us the motivation to keep our heads out of the water.”

Click here for a look at the technical updates brought by all the teams at the start of the European season

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Julien Billiotte

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