Jules Bianchi: A Popular F1 Driver Who Was The 'Real Deal' Behind The Wheel

The death of Jules Bianchi at 25 is a jolting shock to the world of Formula One, even though many in the sport doubted his chances of survival following his horrific crash in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka last October.

Death in F1, once so commonplace, had not occurred as the result of a crash since Ayrton Senna, perhaps the greatest of all champions, was killed at Imola in 1994, on a weekend that claimed the life of another driver, the Austrian Roland Ratzenberger in his debut season. Senna's death , like that of Jim Clark in 1968, was a reminder to lesser drivers that even the very finest were mortal in this most dangerous of environments.

Since then the FIA, the sport's governing body, has moved a long way towards eliminating serious accidents in Formula One. But there will always continue to be crashes - and casualties - where competitors travel in close proximity to each other at speeds of 200mph.

Bianchi may never have gone on to become one of the great champions, such as Senna and Clark or, in modern times, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. But he had been described as the "real deal" by those who had worked closely with him. He was fast and competitive, even driving for the smallest team in the paddock, Marussia, for whom he won their only points, at Monaco in May 2014 - two points that pushed the team up to ninth in the constructors' championship. He regularly outperformed the limitations of his meagre means of transport and regularly defeated his team-mate Max Chilton, the most reliable single barometer of a driver's capabilities.

The Frenchman had already been fully measured, and not found wanting. In death it is common to be talked of in glowing terms but it happened throughout Bianchi's short career as a Formula One driver. As well as being manifestly talented he was cheerful, friendly and immensely popular. As Marussia's president, Graeme Lowdon, said in Russia: "Everyone in Formula One loves Jules. Just everyone."

One of the people who knew him best in the paddock was Force India's deputy team principal, Bob Fearnley. Bianchi was a reserve driver with Force India in 2012. Fearnley said: "Jules had a phenomenal junior career. And he proved himself, clearly, with us in his year as a reserve driver. And more recently he has been the shining star for Marussia. There is no question that he was on every team's radar.

"Marussia did the right thing with Jules. They took him for his talent, rather than looking for money from a pay driver. And he had huge talent. But he was one of those rare exceptions in life. Not only was he exceptionally talented he was also a wonderful person.

"He was always smiling and was an absolute delight to have in the team. Drivers in F1 are so focused on performance, so it was nice to have someone who was a genuinely good human being. It's tragic, and a wake-up call for Formula One, where we push the boundaries a bit."

Bianchi was the richly gifted legacy of a proud dynasty of racers. He was the grandson of Mauro Bianchi, and the nephew of Lucien Bianchi. Mauro was a prominent figure in motor sport in the 1960s. He was a leading driver in F3 and endurance events, particularly in Alpine-Renault.

Uncle Lucien won Le Mans in 1968, the year he was also third in the Monaco Grand Prix, the only time he finished on the podium in 17 grands prix. It was Le Mans where Lucien lost his life as the Alfa Romeo he was driving struck a pole, bursting into flames upon impact.

Jules Bianchi first drove a kart at the age of three and was racing by five. His father, Philippe, once managed the Brignoles karting track in southern France and it was here that Bianchi made his debut. He was signed up by Maranello Karting in 2003. In 2006, his talent now beyond any argument, he came under the influential wing of Nicolas Todt, son of the FIA's current president, Jean. "I knew Jules since he was 15, so this is all very hard for me," Jean Todt observed in Sochi during the Russian Grand Prix a week after Bianchi's accident in Japan.

Bianchi left karting in 2007 and, moving up to cars, was an immediate success, winning the French Formula Renault 2.0 series. He was promoted to the Formula 3 Euro Series a year later and finished third overall with two victories, as well as a victory in the Masters event at Zolder.

In 2009, with eight wins, he won the title with a race to spare - he went on to win that final round at Hockenheim, too. By now he was already being talked about as a possible future star of Formula One, motor sport's ultimate category. At the end of 2009 he represented Ferrari at the young drivers' test in Jerez, joining the team's famous driver academy.

By 2010, he was a star of the GP2 Series, and was fourth in the championship when he was badly injured at Hungaroring, but surprisingly recovered in time to take part in the next round.

In November 2010 he was named by Ferrari as their test and reserve driver for the 2011 Formula One season. In 2012 he was loaned to Force India, as that team's test and reserve driver, and was deeply impressive in the nine practice sessions in which he took part.

He looked set to join Force India's full team in 2013, alongside Paul Di Resta, but lost out to the more experienced Adrian Sutil. But he was taken on by Marussia when that team's deal with Luiz Razia fell through.

Bianchi was consistently impressive at Marussia, despite the fact that he was driving an inferior car to the rest of the grid, and the highlight came at last year's Monaco Grand Prix. In Marussia's fifth season and 83rd grand prix in F1, Bianchi finally produced the team's maiden top-10 finish with ninth position, dragging his generally uncompetitive MR02 into meaningful combat with faster cars on the grid.

He was adored at Marussia, who viewed him as a star of the future, in all probability with a bigger team. That was always most likely to be with Ferrari, where he had a good relationship with the double world champion Alonso. A fitness fanatic, Bianchi and Alonso often trained together at Maranello and the Frenchman ran his first half-marathon in Toulon last September.

If anyone could have possibly survived that sickening crash into a recovery vehicle at Suzuka, it was Jules Bianchi. But he never regained consciousness.