Formula 1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone has paid tribute to Jules Bianchi following the Frenchman’s death at the age of 25.
Bianchi died on Friday night following a nine-month fight against a diffuse axonal head injury suffered in an accident at the Japanese Grand Prix in October of last year.
Tributes have poured in from all over the world to Bianchi, who spent his entire F1 career with Marussia F1 Team, scoring the only points in its history at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix.
In a statement on the official F1 website, Ecclestone expressed his sorrow after hearing the news of Bianchi’s passing.
“It was so sad to hear the news about Jules,” he said.
“We are now going to miss a very talented driver and a really nice person. We must not let this ever happen again.”
Steps have already been taken to prevent a repeat of Bianchi’s accident in the future. The introduction of the Virtual Safety Car in 2015 has been a success, being implemented fully at the British Grand Prix two weeks ago.
However, former grand prix driver David Coulthard believes that it is impossible to remove the inherent danger from motorsport.
“No-one involved in motorsport is ever under the illusion that what they are doing is not dangerous,” Coulthard wrote in his BBC Sport column.
“Although an F1 racer had not suffered a fatality between the deaths of [Ayrton] Senna [in 1994] and Bianchi, there have been several drivers killed in crashes in other categories.
“Danger is an inherent part of life, and depending on your life choices you put yourself either more or less at risk.
“Everyone who steps into a racing car knows that what they are doing could put their life in jeopardy, but they still choose to do it because of what it gives them back.”
