Reuters
Monaco, May 26: The family of the late French Formula One (F1) driver Jules Bianchi is planning legal action against the sport’s governing body, his former Marussia team and Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula One Group, it said in a statement here Thursday.
“We seek justice for Jules, and want to establish the truth about the decisions that led to our son’s crash at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2014,” his father Philippe said in the statement issued by British firm Stewarts Law.
“As a family, we have so many unanswered questions and feel that Jules’ accident and death could have been avoided if a series of mistakes had not been made,” he added.
Bianchi, 25, died in hospital in his home town of Nice last July after suffering serious head injuries when he crashed into a recovery crane at Suzuka during the October 2014 race. He was the first F1 driver to die of injuries sustained during a race since Brazilian triple World Champion Ayrton Senna in 1994.
Stewarts Law informed formal pre-action letters of claim had been sent this week ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix. The recipients were the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA), the defunct Marussia team who are racing under new ownership as Manor, and the F1 Group.
“The Bianchi family is determined that this legal process should require those involved to provide answers and to take responsibility for any failings,” said Stewarts partner Julian Chamberlayne.
“This is important if current and future drivers are to have confidence that safety in the sport will be put first. If this had been the case in Suzuka, Bianchi would most likely still be alive and competing in the sport today.” However There was no immediate response from FIA.
