Jules Bianchi: A brilliant star with an infectious smile, gone too soon

Jules Bianchi's accident at Suzuka last year came just as the Frenchman was on the verge of a major breakthrough. He was expected to race for Ferrari-associated Sauber in 2015, and had things gone to plan he would surely have been in with at least a shot at a Maranello race seat as early as next season. He would thus have had a chance to prove what he could do at the highest level.

We'll never know what he might have achieved in a competitive F1 car, especially under the intense spotlight he would have faced at Ferrari. However, there is no doubt that he was a talented driver with huge potential, and the Italian team's ongoing support for him is the clearest indication of that.

In Singapore last year, just a fortnight before his accident, I asked Jules about a possible future at Ferrari.

"It's my target," he said. "I have been working for this since the start in single-seaters. Two years ago I was not maybe ready, but now I am ready, and I just have to keep showing that I am. If I deserve it I am sure they will decide something good for me."

Jules was far more than just another talented young hopeful - in the words of his team boss John Booth, he was also "a magnificent human being." He was a soft-spoken, modest young man with a smile that allowed him to make friends easily.

He came from a family with deep roots in motor sport. His great-grandfather was a mechanic for Alfa Romeo and later for Belgian gentleman racer Johnny Claes, and his grandfather Mauro and great uncle Lucien were both rally drivers turned racers.

Lucien started 17 GPs between 1960 and 1968, finishing third in Monaco in the latter season. An ace in sportscars, he won Sebring with Jo Bonnier in 1962, and Le Mans with Pedro Rodriguez in 1968. He even briefly appeared in Indy cars in 1967. Sadly, he was killed in a testing accident in an Alfa Romeo at Le Mans in March 1969, at the age of 34. Brother Mauro, who had been badly burned at the same venue the previous year, subsequently retired from the sport.

Not surprisingly the Bianchi family was not keen for the next generation to move into motor sport, but after enough time had passed and racing became safer, Jules was able to follow the path taken by his grandfather and great uncle.

After making his name in karting, Jules moved into cars in 2007, winning the French Formula Renault Championship in his first season. Helped by manager Nicolas Todt, he made quick progress through the ranks. He first really made his mark in the Euro F3 Series in 2008, finishing third overall in his rookie year with Todt's ART team, and winning the prestigious Masters race  held at Zolder.

The following season he won the Euro F3 title, and at the end of it he tested for Ferrari at Jerez. That led to a place in the Maranello team's new driver academy, and a long-term contract that ensured he would be well placed should the team ever be in need of a driver.

In 2010, Jules moved up to GP2 with ART and he finished a solid third in his rookie year behind Pastor Maldonado and Sergio Perez, although he failed to win a race: "The first year I was quick, but I was doing mistakes in the races, and I was destroying tires, because I was pushing too much."

However, Ferrari kept the faith, and he also did the Abu Dhabi rookie driver F1 test at the end of that year.

In 2011, he again finished in third position in his second GP2 season. He scored his first win at Silverstone, and left highly-rated teammate Esteban Gutierrez trailing. Nevertheless, by not winning the title his career appeared to have stalled somewhat, although there was no doubt about his latent talent. Meanwhile, he logged some Ferrari F1 miles in the Abu Dhabi rookie test.

Jules and his management team then made the unusual decision to make a sideways move into Renault 3.5 for 2012, rather than tackle a third season in GP2. By stepping out of GP2 he was also freed up on F1 race weekends to take on the Force India test driver role, while also remaining part of the Ferrari program.

In a competitive field he lost the Renault title to Robin Frijns by just four points after a controversial clash in the finale. His Force India testing - which included nine Friday FP1 sessions - clearly established him as a potential F1 race driver. The ongoing Ferrari ties were underlined when he was called in for two days of testing at Magny-Cours.

Over the winter of 2012-2013, he came close to concluding a deal to race for Force India and indeed continued testing for the team into February, although a crash did not help his cause. Losing the drive to Adrian Sutil was a huge blow, but at the last minute Marussia gave him an opportunity after Luis Razia's funding failed to materialize.

In effect he had nothing to lose, as little was expected from the team, and despite a minimum of preparation he made a good impression over the course of 2013. The team happily retained him for 2014, in conjunction with a switch to Ferrari power units for the new turbo formula.

The overall package was much improved, and the car was more competitive. However, Jules admitted that he'd initially found it hard to adapt to the new formula.

"I was stronger this year, because I had more confidence with the team, I know everybody there," he explained. "But in terms of driving initially I was struggling actually this year, because the car was really different. We had a lot less grip, and I didn't really like it in the beginning, so it was a bit difficult. But then I started to feel more the limit of the car, and since Monaco onwards I've felt really good and strong."

In the streets of the principality Bianchi put in a superb performance to finish ninth and score the two hugely valuable points, the first for any of the new F1 teams that started in 2010. They led to the team finishing 10th in the constructors' championship, and ultimately ensure that it would make it into the 2015 season.

"Monaco was great, just amazing. To finish P8 on track was like a dream, and then we were P9 because of the penalty. The result was incredible for us. We had a lot of luck as well, you need that too, but I think the race we did was just perfect, and it paid. After all this work for the team I was really proud to be the first driver to score points for them. I think we did a really good job together, and for the history books, it was nice for me to be the first one."

Meanwhile Ferrari's support was underlined when he was called in to test at Silverstone in July after Kimi Raikkonen's crash in the British GP.

He stressed that the outing had been useful: "For sure it was perfect timing. I think they know that I am quick, but it's also good to have some opportunities like this, to show that I am there, I can do a good job testing without doing mistakes, and being on a good lap time. So this is really important, and it was for sure helpful for me."

When we spoke in Singapore it was very much with a third year at Marussia in mind, despite the looming financial crisis. It wasn't announced at the time, but at the next race in Suzuka Bianchi's management agreed that he would race with Sauber in 2015. Given the Swiss team's long Ferrari associations, it was a logical move for the Frenchman, who would in effect be in a holding pattern while waiting for an opportunity to arise with the works team. Sadly, it wasn't to be.