A little over a week from Jules Bianchi’s crash at the Japanese Grand Prix his father, Philippe, has spoken to Italian media about the condition of his son. Unfortunately, it’s not great reading.
In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Philippe Bianchi said: “Every time the telephone goes, we know it could be the hospital to tell us that Jules is dead.
“He will not give up, I’m sure of that. I can see it. I believe it.
“I speak to him. I know he can hear me.
“His doctors have told us that this is already a miracle, no-one has ever survived such a serious accident. But Jules won’t give up.”
The Bianchi family continues to be buoyed by support from outside and inside the F1 paddock, with several drivers making contact.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Philippe said. “It touched us very deeply. We thank every one of them. So many of them have been in touch, written to me; Alonso, Vergne, Massa have given strong messages.
“Hamilton wrote me a beautiful email in which he says that if there is anything he can do, he’s there. Rossi and Marquez from Moto GP too.”
Philippe Bianchi also touched on the similarities he now shares with the Schumacher family, where there is a pressure to update people on the condition of his son.
“I was very sad when he [Schumacher] got hurt,” Philippe said. “I kept wondering, like every one else ‘Why don’t they tell us more about how he is?’.
“But now I’m in the same position I understand. Everyone keeps asking me how Jules is but I can’t reply, there is no answer. It’s very serious but he’s stable.
“One day he seems a bit better, other days a bit worse. The doctors don’t say. The damage from the accident is very bad but we don’t know how it will evolve.
“Even with Schumacher it took months to come out of the coma. [FIA president] Jean Todt said he hopes Michael will one day be able to have a normal life. One day I hope we can say the same about Jules.
“It’s tough. In a week the life of this family has been destroyed. What are we doing here? Living a nightmare in a place very far from home.
“But when Jules gets a bit better we can transfer him, maybe to Tokyo and things will be a bit easier. But who knows when that will happen. If it will happen. We have no certainties, we just have to wait.”
A new official team statement regarding Jules Bianchi can be read after the break.
[Source: BBC | Pic: Marussia F1 Team]
A Medical Update Regarding Jules Bianchi
Yokkaichi, Japan
14 October 2014, 00.00hrs local/16.00hrs BST
At the request of the family of Jules Bianchi, and in conjunction with the Mie General Medical Center in Yokkaichi, the Marussia F1 Team is able to provide the following information regarding Jules’ medical condition:
The past nine days have been extremely difficult for Jules and his family. As a consequence of the accident at Suzuka, a number of medical challenges have needed to be overcome and the situation remains challenging due to the diffuse axonal traumatic brain injury Jules has sustained.
Jules remains in a critical but stable condition in the Intensive Care Unit of Mie General Medical Center in Yokkaichi. The Bianchi family continue to be comforted by the thoughts and prayers of Jules’ many fans and the motor sport community. In particular, the many demonstrations of support and affection during the course of the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi were of enormous comfort to Jules’ parents and the relatives and friends also present at the hospital.
The family will provide further medical updates when appropriate.
One reply on ““Jules won’t give up””
Somebody needs to start giving the family some basic media advice. Taking questions from a trashy rumour mill like La Gazzetta dello Sport on this sort of issue is a bad idea if ever there was one!