Lewis Hamilton heads into the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend in a sombre mood following the death and subsequent funeral for Jules Bianchi, insisting that the Frenchman would have wanted everyone to race as hard as he did during his oh-to-short career.
The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS driver insisted it was hard to say goodbye to the former Marussia driver this week, with Hamilton feeling Formula 1 has a tough road ahead coming to terms with Bianchi’s passing and with the continued work on safety in the sport.
“Saying goodbye to Jules was incredibly hard for everyone,” said Hamilton. “For myself, I wished I had known him better. But from what I knew of him, he was a kind heart with a great spirit and a bright future.
“Now our sport embarks on a tough road ahead. We have been shown once more the dangers of our sport, that these should be respected and that we drivers commit ourselves to the chance that those dangers are there when we step into the car.
“We have made great progress for safety thus far and I know that the FIA will continue to make steps forward to improve even further.
“Hungary is a beautiful place, one of my favourites. I will be carrying Jules with me in my prayers and thoughts, not only this race but for the rest of my driving days. I know he’d want us to race hard as he did, and so I will.”
