Jules Bianchi Suffers Head Injury in Japanese Grand Prix Crash

Our latest reminder has unfortunately come at the expense of one Jules Bianchi, driver for the Marussia team. On lap 42 of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka at Sunday, Bianchi crashed into a recovery vehicle that was evacuating Adrian Sutil's Sauber. Sutil's crash had prompted the race marshals to deploy double yellow flags to warn of the danger, but the warning evidently didn't prevent Bianchi from losing control of his car at the same Turn 7 where Sutil had gone off-course.

We're saddened to report that Bianchi suffered what the FIA has described as a "severe head injury" as a result of the crash. The injuries were diagnosed by a CT scan performed at the Mie General Hospital to which Bianchi was evacuated by ambulance from the circuit's medical center. The 25-year-old French driver, part of the Ferrari Driver Academy development program, has undergone surgery to address his injuries, and was slated to be transferred to intensive care to monitor his progress. The race, which had seen the safety car and the red flag deployed off and on due to the severely rainy conditions, was subsequently called off early.