26/05/2016
NEWS STORY
The family of Jules Bianchi, has today announced they plan to take legal action in England relating to the fatal injuries Jules Bianchi sustained in a collision with a mobile crane at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, 2014.
Stewarts Law, acting for the Bianchi family, has this week sent formal pre-action letters of claim to:
The FIA
Team Marussia, who Bianchi was driving for at the time
The Formula One Group of companies, who control the TV and media rights for the sport.
The letters explain why the Bianchi family feel the actions of one or more of those parties, amongst others, may have contributed to Jules' fatal accident and invite them to accept that errors were made in the planning, timing, organisation and conduct of the race which took place in dangerous conditions during the typhoon season in Japan.
The recipients of the letters of claim will be expected to respond in due course, to explain their actions in connection with the race and to indicate if they dispute the claim.
"Jules Bianchi's death was avoidable," said Stewarts Law partner Julian Chamberlayne, who is representing the Bianchi family. "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. 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.
"The Bianchi family are determined that this legal process should require those involved to provide answers and to take responsibility for any failings. 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, Jules Bianchi would most likely still be alive and competing in the sport he loved today."
Prominent individuals in the world of Formula One, including current and former drivers and world champions, have criticised the conduct of the race.
"We seek justice for Jules," said Philippe Bianchi, Jules' father, "and want to establish the truth about the decisions that led to our son's crash at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2014. 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."
Jules Bianchi's parents, Philippe and Christine, have set up a charitable organisation in his memory which will support young, aspiring motorsport drivers to realise their potential. They will this weekend be attending the Monaco Grand Prix, a race which had a special place in Jules' life, to promote the work of the charitable organisation and its future plans.
The family has previously spoken of being unable to watch Formula One because of the pain caused by their son's death, but have decided to travel to Monaco this weekend to champion their work to support young drivers and improve safety in the sport.
Check out our Thursday gallery, here.