When a ninth place felt like a win: the magic of Bianchi in Monaco
Is a ninth place in a Formula 1 Grand Prix worth celebrating?
Most definitely, especially if no one would ever have bet on it. There are two players in this story, Jules Bianchi and the Marussia team.
The 2014 season was the English team's third in Formula 1. It had started off well, landing a contract for a Ferrari hybrid power unit supply deal. This also ensured the continued presence on its driver roster of Jules Bianchi, a product of the Ferrari Driver Academy, who had joined the court of John Booth and Graeme Lowdon the previous year. It was a shame that the Maranello power unit was not exactly the most competitive, as testified by what was a painful season for Ferrari itself. Prior to the opening round in Australia, the team had hopes of fighting in the midfield, but these rapidly evaporated and it looked as though it was heading for another season with no points to its name, the fifth since the team was established in 2010, when it went by the name of Virgin.
However, no one had taken into account the talent and determination of a young man born on 3 August 1989, not far from Monte Carlo, in Nice. He therefore considered the Monaco Grand Prix to be his home race, especially as the French Grand Prix had slid off the calendar from 2008, before making a comeback in 2018. Despite a problem with the differential in qualifying, which cost him a five place grid penalty because of a change of gearbox, followed by two five second penalties during the race itself, Jules managed to cross the finish line in eighth place. Those two penalties saw him demoted to ninth. Jules had produced an amazing drive, lighting up the race with an unbelievable overtaking move, sliding down the inside of Kamui Kobayashi at the Rascasse corner.
Now, Racing Director at Alpine, back then, David Greenwood was Marussia's Chief Engineer. “This was an incredible result for the team,” he recalled. “Our very first F1 points. It was far from being a trouble-free weekend, quite the contrary, but right from the start, Jules had shown amazing pace. Then in the race he produced that overtake at Rascasse: I wouldn't say it's impossible to overtake there, but it's definitely not exactly easy! Then there were those two penalties…But Jules was a really special driver and he deserved that result.”
Naturally, after the race, Jules himself was delighted. “I'm incredibly happy, but first of all I have to pay tribute to everyone in the Marussia F1 Team for having made it all possible,” he said. “No one knows how much work and determination goes into our races, so today I am delighted to have helped them to reach this long held goal of scoring our first points. Doing it together makes me feel very proud.”
Jules' performance certainly didn't go unnoticed in the paddock. “I'm extremely happy for him and very proud of what this result means for his career,” was a comment from Fernando Alonso for example. “I'm sure he will have a good career, but I hope that with this result he can find a more competitive car for next year so he can show what he can really do.”
Those points were to be the first and last for both Marussia and Jules. A cruel twist of fate saw Jules suffer a fatal accident in Suzuka on October 5th that year, even if he only breathed his last on 17 July 2015 in a Nice hospital. Marussia itself soon folded. After the Japanese GP the team entered just one car for Max Chilton in the following round in Russia. Then it lost the financial backing of Russian tycoon Andrei Cheglakov, and was taken over by Northern Irish businessman Stephen Fitzpatrick and former Sainsbury's executive Jordan King. Booth and Lowdon left at the end of 2015. Nothing remained of the exploit that began in 2010 under the Virgin banner, except the name “Manor,” under which the team raced for just one more season in 2016 before disappearing for good.
Today, Jules' memory lives on, kept alive by his father Philippe and the Association Jules Bianchi (julesbianchi.fr), and by Charles Leclerc, who was a young rival to Jules, when they were karting at the Brignoles track. There is something about Charles' smile, sometimes with a hint of sadness, that is reminiscent of Jules, and the level of talent is possibly a notch higher. They both shared a dream of winning on the streets of Monaco and one year ago, Charles did just that. It came as no surprise when he dedicated the victory to the memory of his dear friend.
