“7 years since you are gone”- Charles Leclerc shares a heartwarming picture of his godfather and former F1 driver Jules Bianchi on his death anniversary

Charles Leclerc took to social media to remember the death of his godfather Jules Bianchi.

Bianchi, a former F1 driver and Ferrari academy member, was Leclerc's godfather and had helped him throughout his junior career, even helping him get in touch with Nicolas Todt as his manager. The Frenchman was poised for a future seat in Ferrari after an impressive couple of seasons in F1 driving for a backmarker team named Marussia. Before he could make the final transition, however, Bianchi lost his life in an accident at the 2014 F1 Japanese GP.

Remembering Bianchi's death, Charles Leclerc took to social media and posted:

“7 years since you are gone”

Some of the interesting anecdotes about the impact Jules Bianchi had on Charles Leclerc's life have been shared by the Ferrari driver who claimed how if it wasn't for the French driver, he wouldn't be in F1. The Monegasque said:

“When my father didn’t have the money to keep me going in karting & it was going to be my last year, Jules Bianchi was kind enough to speak of me to Nicolas Todt, who then paid for everything for me until I reached F1. So, without Jules, I would be nowhere.”

Some members of the F1 fraternity also took to Twitter to share their memories of Bianchi, seven years after he passed away.

“Jules Bianchi kindness and presence is truly missed around the paddock , it’s one of those what if moments in F1”

“#OnThisDay 7 years ago talented young #F1 driver Jules Bianchi tragically passed away. Pic: a happy Jules celebrates victory for Lotus ART in the #GP2 feature race at Silverstone in 2011.”

“On this day 7 years ago, Jules Bianchi, a talented and promising driver, left us. We will always remember him.”

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What happened to Charles Leclerc's godfather Jules Bianchi?

Jules Bianchi was a Ferrari Academy driver who made his debut in F1 in 2013 with backmarker team Marussia. The French driver was devastatingly quick and boasted of some strong results with the team. So much so that Ferrari kept a keen eye on Bianchi as a future driver and he was in line to replace Kimi Raikkonen if the Finnish driver did not show improvements.

All these hopes of becoming a young Ferrari driver came to a head at the 2014 F1 Japanese GP when Bianchi was involved in a crash in treacherous conditions. In conditions where racing should have stopped, Bianchi's car aquaplaned and smashed into an ill-placed recovery vehicle. On July 17, 2015, the French driver would pass away despite getting a precautionary surgery, and become the first driver since Ayrton Senna to lose his life in F1.