Bianchi crash an 'eye-opener' says Sutil a year after witnessing wreck

Bianchi crash an 'eye-opener' says Sutil a year after witnessing wreck

Published Sep. 23, 2015 10:45 a.m. ET
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F1's return to Suzuka will be particularly poignant for Adrian Sutil.

Last year in fading light and on a damp track, Jules Bianchi, 25, slid off at Turn 7 of the Japanese circuit and into a recovery vehicle.

He never regained consciousness, and died from head injuries nine months later.

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The vehicle he struck was recovering the crashed Sauber of Sutil. The German driver also witnessed Bianchi's crash, and was mere yards from the stricken Frenchman as he was attended to by medical staff.

And so it is with a heavy heart that, now as Williams' reserve driver, Sutil returns to Suzuka this weekend.

"There are moments that do change your life a bit," Sutil admitted to the German news agency DPA.

"Especially when it's the first time that you have witnessed something like up close. It was an extreme accident and it took a long time to get it out of my head.

"I would not say that it was permanent shock, but it was an eye-opener of what we are actually doing.

"It (coming back to Suzuka) will certainly be a different feeling, not just for me, but for many others who were directly or indirectly involved," he added.

Japan will therefore be particularly hard for Manor, which, as Marussia, was Bianchi's team.

"We were Jules' team," confirmed team boss John Booth, "and with that in mind I would ask everyone to understand and respect that, this weekend, we wish to deal with the experience of returning to Suzuka in a very private way."

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