Jules Bianchi is undergoing surgery for a “severe head injury”, F1’s governing body has announced.
At the same time, the French driver’s father has told the L’Equipe sports daily that his son is in a “critical” condition at the Mie hospital near Suzuka. The same media reports said the “emergency surgery” was being done because 25-year-old Bianchi suffered cerebral hematoma.
After the surgery, “he will be moved to intensive care where he will be monitored,” the FIA statement said.
France’s Le Figaro claimed Bianchi arrived at the hospital by ambulance already in a coma but “without the need for respiratory support”.
Video replays of Bianchi’s crash were ordered not to be shown or released by F1 race director Charlie Whiting. Adrian Sutil, however, was visibly shaken up after the accident, in which Bianchi lost control of his car at high speed and went underneath a recovery vehicle that was removing the crashed Sauber. “It was almost a carbon copy of my crash,” said Sutil.
Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport claims that in the impact, the entire left side of Bianchi’s Marussia was destroyed, including the crash structure and roll-bar. “I’ve never seen such a badly damaged car,” said one eyewitness who was at the scene.
