Breaking news
Formula 1
Hamilton admits saying goodbye to Bianchi "incredibly hard"
World champion Lewis Hamilton admitted that saying goodbye to the late Jules Bianchi was "incredibly hard" for him.
Pablo Elizalde
Edited: Jul 22, 2015, 2:19 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Hamilton was one of several of the current F1 drivers who attended Bianchi's funeral in Nice on Tuesday.
Bianchi, 25, died on Friday evening as a result of the injuries he suffered in his accident during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
Hamilton says he will be racing with Bianchi on his mind this weekend.
"Saying goodbye to Jules was incredibly hard for everyone," said Hamilton in a Mercedes preview ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
"For myself, I wished I had known him better.
"But from what I knew of him, he was a kind heart with a great spirit and a bright future.
"Now our sport embarks on a tough road ahead. We have been shown once more the dangers of our sport, that these should be respected and that we drivers commit ourselves to the chance that those dangers are there when we step into the car.
"We have made great progress for safety thus far and I know that the FIA will continue to make steps forward to improve even further. Hungary is a beautiful place, one of my favourites.
"I will be carrying Jules with me in my prayers and thoughts, not only this race but for the rest of my driving days. I know he'd want us to race hard as he did, and so I will."
Safety push will continue
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff insisted Formula 1 will honour Bianchi's memory by doing everything possible to improve safety.
"My first thoughts go to the family and friends of Jules - the loss of a child is something for which there are no words, and on behalf of the team I send them strength for the days and weeks ahead," he said.
"And we will honour his memory by continuing to improve the safety of the drivers, team members, circuit workers and spectators under the leadership of the FIA."
A minute's silence will be held in Bianchi's honour 15 minutes before the start of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Analysis: Can Renault still salvage its F1 season?
Next article Sauber still pushing for F1 costs shake-up
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Pablo Elizalde
Alpine becomes Pramac's main partner in MotoGP
MotoGP
MotoGP
Alpine becomes Pramac's main partner in MotoGP
Liberty Media's $4bn MotoGP deal facing EU probe
MotoGP
MotoGP
Liberty Media's $4bn MotoGP deal facing EU probe
Ocon wants answers to understand pace slump against Alpine team-mate
Formula 1
Formula 1
Ocon wants answers to understand pace slump against Alpine team-mate
More from
Lewis Hamilton
The 'difference' between Kimi Antonelli's F1 title and Lewis Hamilton's according to Toto Wolff
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
3 h
The 'difference' between Kimi Antonelli's F1 title and Lewis Hamilton's according to Toto Wolff
Lewis Hamilton slams Charles Leclerc for "do or die" attitude after Mexico GP clash
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
Lewis Hamilton slams Charles Leclerc for "do or die" attitude after Mexico GP clash
More from
Mercedes
Marco Antonelli: "I saw the champion in Kimi after his Australia crash"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
8 h
Marco Antonelli: "I saw the champion in Kimi after his Australia crash"
Kimi Antonelli labels the "turning point" in F1 title-winning season
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
12 h
Kimi Antonelli labels the "turning point" in F1 title-winning season
Latest news
NASCAR issues penalties to Carson Hocevar and Josh Berry for Martinsville brake-checks
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
1 h
NASCAR issues penalties to Carson Hocevar and Josh Berry for Martinsville brake-checks
NASCAR making progress with short track show but drivers still want more
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
1 h
NASCAR making progress with short track show but drivers still want more
Rafa Camara to debut in F1 Brazil GP as Esteban Ocon out at Haas
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
2 h
Rafa Camara to debut in F1 Brazil GP as Esteban Ocon out at Haas
The biggest controversies of Carson Hocevar's chaotic 2026 NASCAR Cup season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 2 h
The biggest controversies of Carson Hocevar's chaotic 2026 NASCAR Cup season
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe