Bianchi's father says recovery hopes fading

Jul.14 (GMM) Jules Bianchi's father has admitted hopes are fading that the former Marussia driver will recover from his head injuries.

The 25-year-old has never regained consciousness after sliding into a recovery vehicle during last year's Japanese grand prix almost ten months ago.

"In general, progress needs to be made in the first six months," Philippe Bianchi told France Info radio on Monday. "And now it's been nine months and Jules has still not woken up and there is no significant progress.

"As time goes by, it makes me less optimistic than I might have been two or three months after the accident when one might have hoped for a better outcome," he added.

Bianchi's father had said in May that the family is having to consider the possibility that Jules will eventually die.

Now, he explains: "It's hard to get up in the morning while telling yourself that you're not sure whether your son is going to live and every day is like that."

Mr Bianchi revealed that he had once spoken to his son about the head injuries suffered by F1 legend Michael Schumacher in a late 2013 skiing fall.

"He (Jules) told us that if one day he had an accident like Michael Schumacher's, even if his only handicap was not being able to drive, he would have a lot of difficulty living with it. Because it (racing) was his life," he said.