Manor Marussia
Formula 1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone has paid tribute to Jules Bianchi and says he hopes the late Frenchman is remembered for 'the way he was as a driver and as a person.'
Bianchi passed away on Friday, nine months after he suffered serious injuries during a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix.
"I think there’s nothing much that’s already been said, it’s just a shame to lose such a talented guy, at his age, and such a nice person, a waste," Ecclestone told BBC Radio Five Live. "[He was] just a very nice person.
"What happened to Jules was very, very unfortunate."
Ecclestone said that the recovery vehicle - a tractor - should never have been present in the run-off.
"The worst thing which happened here was that the tractor shouldn’t have been there," he said.
"If it hadn’t have been there, or the other person hadn’t have hit the tyre barrier...we’ve done an awful lot of work to make sure that if a car does go off and hit the tyre barrier and it’s all okay.
"Hitting that thing…it wouldn’t have made any difference if you hit it with a saloon car, or even with a tank - you’d have had problems.
"I [just] hope he’ll be remembered the way he was as a driver and as a person, not because he had an accident."
