Marussia Formula One driver Jules Bianchi
Marussia Formula One driver Jules Bianchi of France speaks to the media after a news conference at the Suzuka circuit October 2, 2014. French driver Bianchi was taken to hospital after being seriously injured in a crash that brought a halt to a wet Japanese Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday. Picture taken October 2, 2014. Reuters

Formula One Racing has a shadow hanging over the entire institution at the moment in the aftermatch of Marussia driver, Jules Bianchi's, near fatal crash at the Suzuka Grand Prix in Japan last Sunday. Bianchi has since undergone surgery after suffering massive head injuries and remains in a stable but critical condition. There has been an outpouring support for the 25-year-old French driver from his colleagues and other members of the racing community.

Marussia F1 Team Driver Jules Bianchi Out Of Surgery But Still In Critical Condition After Japan GP Crash

Japanese Grand Prix race winner and world championship leader Lewis Hamilton payed down his victory. He and fellow drivers Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel had a subdued celebration on the podium after the race was ended abruptly due to the crash. Hamilton tweeted:

Our first thoughts go to Jules - it overshadows everything when one of our colleagues is injured and we're praying for him. #PrayForJules

— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) October 5, 2014

The Scuderia Ferrari Formula One Team has arrived in Sochi, Russia to prepare for the inaugural Russian Grand Prix, but the team has more things in mind apart from the race ahead. In a Twitter post, the team expressed support to two downed drivers that have had previous associations with the team. They posted a photo showing former Ferrari driver and seven time world champion Michael Schumacher shaking hands with Bianchi. Schumacher also suffered head injuries in December last year. The injury left him in a coma for six months before he was finally able to awaken and start a long rehabilitation process. Bianchi found his Formula One break when he entered racing's top flight as a test driver for Ferrari in 2011. He finally secured a racing seat with the Marussia F1 team in 2013.

The team is in Sochi, all our thoughts remain in Suzuka. Hopes for Michael as well. #ForzaJules #ForzaMichael — Scuderia Ferrari (@InsideFerrari) October 8, 2014

In a rare display of vulnerability and emotion, current Ferrari team driver Fernando Alonso also took to Twitter to express his thoughts. In a short but meaningful tweet Alonso expressed his distress due to what happened to his friend. He also changed the profile photo on his Twitter page into photos of him and Bianchi together.

Difficult to sleep... #ForzaJules

— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) October 5, 2014

Lotus F1 Team driver Romain Grosjean sent his thoughts to his fellow driver. He appeared to have had a sleepless night just like Alonso while thinking about his friend. Meanwhile, the Lotus Team also expressed their support:

Woke up after a strange night... Thinking a lot about our friends @Jules_Bianchi and hoping for some positive news today! #forzajules — Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) October 5, 2014

All our thoughts and prayers go to @Jules_Bianchi, his team and his family tonight. #ForzaJules — Lotus F1 Team (@Lotus_F1Team) October 5, 2014

Caterham Driver Marcus Ericsson also took to Twitter to express his support to his fellow driver. He had earlier received some criticism after saying that the race was fun but he later apologised and said that he was still unaware of the gravity of the situation when the statement was made.

Just arrived in Sochi. A race weekend with very mixed emotions coming up. Keep fighting Jules #ForzaJules #ME9 — Marcus Ericsson (@Ericsson_Marcus) October 7, 2014

Another colleague on the grid, Jerome D'Ambrosio posted a photo of the injured driver with the hashtag #forzajules. He also asked for some divine intervention by asking for prayers.

Keep fighting my friend. #PrayForJules #ForzaJules — Jerome D'Ambrosio (@thereal_JDA) October 8, 2014

Many more have since expressed their support and concern towards Bianchi. His injuries were due to a collision with a recovery vehicle that was in the process of clearing away another vehicle that had spun off. Bianchi aquaplaned off the track on the 43rd lap of the race and instead of finding the tyre wall, he unfortunately ended up hitting the recovery truck. He was immediately transported by an ambulance to a nearby hospital where he underwent the surgery.