Jules Bianchi family start legal action against F1 bosses and Marussia over tragic racer’s death
The family of Jules Bianchi has started legal proceedings against Formula One bosses and his former team Marussia over the crash that killed the promising racer in 2014.
Bianchi’s family plan to argue that errors in the planning, timing and organisation of the Japanese Grand Prix may have contributed to the Frenchman fatally colliding with a track-side crane.
Lawyers for the family say they have sent formal pre-action letters to motorsport’s governing body the FIA, media rights-holder Formula One Group, and Marussia.
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“Jules Bianchi’s death was avoidable,” said Julian Chamberlayne of Stewarts Law, who is representing the Bianchis. “The FIA Panel Inquiry Report into this accident made numerous recommendations to improve safety in Formula One but failed to identify where errors had been made which led to Jules’ death.”
Bianchi’s father Philippe said: “We seek justice for Jules, and want to establish the truth about the decisions that led to our son’s crash. As a family, we have so many unanswered questions and feel that Jules’s accident and death could have been avoided if a series of mistakes had not been made.”
The 25-year-old died from head injuries nine months after the crash, in which he lost control of his car in wet conditions and hit a crane that was removing the vehicle of another driver, Adrian Sutil.
Bianchi’s family are said to have been upset that an FIA probe into the accident highlighted the 25-year-old’s “failure to slow down”.
“It was surprising and distressing to the Bianchi family that the FIA panel in its conclusions, whilst noting a number of contributing factors, blamed Jules,” Chamberlayne added.
“The Bianchi family are determined that this legal process should require those involved to provide answers and to take responsibility for any failings.”