Teammate Chilton: "Bianchi's death hit me hard"

Despite two recent tragedies, former F1 driver Max Chilton is pressing ahead with his career in motor racing. Chilton was the late Jules Bianchi's teammate at Marussia when the Frenchman suffered his ultimately fatal crash at Suzuka in late 2014.

The Briton says he still "cannot watch" the footage of the incident. "Jules' death hit me hard," Chilton told Britain's Sun newspaper. "Our car was the least performing car on that grid - the least amount of downforce - and I had a moment on that corner. It could have been either of us."

Now, 24-year-old Chilton is moving to America's premier open wheeler series Indycar, where last year fellow Briton Justin Wilson lost his life. "When I was making my decision (between Indycar teams for 2016), Justin had his fatal accident at the same time," said Chilton, "which made it ten times harder. But I just kept telling myself that it could have happened anytime. It was just like Jules -- a freak accident."

He has signed with the top team Ganassi, having served his apprenticeship in Indy Lights last year. "It is very exciting," said Chilton. "I never thought it would happen. I was like 99 per cent of other drivers where F1 was always my goal. I remember all those times where I said that I would never race in Indycar because it never appealed to me, but it was a case of never say never. Life changes," he added. (GMM)