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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
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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.
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