F1 drivers to race with messages of support for Bianchi

By Luke SmithOct 9, 2014, 12:30 PM EDT
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The Formula 1 field will race with messages of support for Jules Bianchi in Russia this weekend following the Frenchman’s accident at last Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix that has left him in a critical condition.

Towards the end of the race at Suzuka, Bianchi crashed into a recovery vehicle being used to collect Adrian Sutil’s Sauber, leaving him with severe head injuries. He is currently in a critical condition in hospital, as per the last official update on Tuesday.

As the paddock prepares to race in Russia with a heavy heart, most of the field has confirmed that it will be running with a message on cars and helmets in support of Bianchi, with the majority reading “Tous avec Jules” – ‘all with Jules’.

Michael Schumacher’s son to make F1 practice debut at Nurburgring

F1 Mick Schumacher
Joe Portlock - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
Associated PressSep 29, 2020, 11:30 AM EDT
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MARANELLO, Italy — Mick Schumacher, son of the legednary seven-time champion, will have an official Formula One drive during an F1 race weekend for the first time next week at the Nurburgring, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari said Tuesday.

Schumacher gets the practice drive in an Alfa Romeo on Oct. 9 on his home track in Germany as a member of Ferrari’s young driver program, taking over Antonio Giovinazzi’s car for the first session of the weekend.

“I am overjoyed to get this chance in free practice,” Schumacher said in a statement. “I’m going to prepare myself well, so that I can do the best possible job for the team and gain some valuable data for the weekend.”

The 21-year-old Schumacher leads the Formula 2 standings after winning races in Monza and Sochi. He won the European Formula 3 championship in 2018 and tested a Ferrari F1 car in Bahrain in April 2019. He also has done demonstration runs in his father’s old cars, most recently this month ahead of the Tuscan Grand Prix in a championship-winning 2004 Ferrari.

Michael Schumacher holds the F1 record with 91 victories, which Lewis Hamilton is on the verge of tying.

Ferrari said two other drivers in its academy program will also get practice drives in Formula One.

Callum Ilott, a British driver who is second to Mick Schumacher in F2, will drive an F1 Haas at the Nurburgring on the same day as Schumacher. Russian driver Robert Shwartzman will drive in practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Dec. 11, though Ferrari hasn’t said for which team.

The German round was added to the F1 schedule after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the season and will be officially known as the Eifel Grand Prix after a nearby mountain range. The Nurburgring last hosted F1 in 2013.