Jules Bianchi’s father issues emotional appeal after last kart stolen

Philippe Bianchi, the father of former Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi, took to social media to report a mass theft to the karting community.

Bianchi senior reported that among nine karts stolen was Jules’ last kart, an extremely disappointing act which has hurt the family due to its sentimental value.

Jules Bianchi’s father alerts karting community over theft

In a post on Facebook, Philippe announced that a total of nine karts were taken during a burglary and asked anyone who sees any of the stolen karts “in circulation” to contact him.

“Dear friends, tonight I am addressing my karting family,” Philippe began in his Facebook post.

“Last night we were burgled and the unscrupulous thieves made off with nine JB17 Forever chassis.

“Even worse, they stole Jules’ last kart, a KZ 125 ART GP model, as well as my grandsons’ mini karts.

“Apart from the value of the machines, it is the sentimental value that hurts us.

“If you see any JB17 karts in circulation, please let me know. Thank you in advance.”

More on Jules Bianchi from PlanetF1.com

Jules Bianchi remembered: ‘The conditions were much worse than they looked’

Eight times the Halo became a saviour: Grosjean, Leclerc and more scary incidents remembered

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Jules Bianchi: Never forgotten

Jules Bianchi, regarded as one of Formula 1’s brightest talents at the time, remains the series’ most recent driver fatality.

Jules went off track in very wet conditions at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, and collided with a recovery vehicle, suffering severe head injuries.

He was placed into an induced coma following emergency surgery. He tragically passed away from his injuries nine months later, having never regained consciousness.

His F1 racing number, 17, was retired from the sport in his honour.

Jules, was a member of the Ferrari driver programme and was racing for Marussia at the time. He was the godfather of current Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.

In the years following Jules’ passing, the Halo cockpit safety device has been added to cars. A critical addition, the likes of Romain Grosjean and Zhou Guanyu have credited it with saving their life, while Toto Wolff said the same for Lewis Hamilton after his 2021 Monza collision with Max Verstappen.

Read next: Ferrari issues Project 678 update as Charles Leclerc experiments come to light