London: Jules Bianchi's racing number - 17 - has been retired from use in Formula One following the French driver's death last week, the sport's governing body announced on Monday.

"As F1 car numbers are now personally chosen by each driver, the FIA believes it to be an appropriate gesture to retire Jules Bianchi's number 17," the International Automobile Federation (FIA) said on their website.

"As a result, this number can no longer be used for a car competing in the FIA Formula One World Championship."

Bianchi died in hospital nine months after he suffered severe head injuries in a Japanese Grand Prix accident when his Marussia crashed into a recovery tractor moving another car away from a tyre wall.

The 2014 season was the first after a rule change allowed drivers to choose their own numbers, and 17 was not Bianchi's first choice.

The Frenchman had preferred the numbers 7, 27 or 77 but all were taken by drivers ranked ahead of him according to the previous year's standings.

Since his accident, the #JB17 hashtag has become familiar on Twitter as an expression of support and affection for the popular driver.

Formula One will also pay tribute to the memory of Bianchi before the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The final race before the sport's summer break will be a sombre affair as news of the death of one of the most popular drivers in F1 sinks in. Christine and Philippe Bianchi announced on Sunday that their son's funeral will take place at the Sainte-Reparate cathedral in Nice, on Tuesday.

Bernie Ecclestone, F1's chief executive, wants the sport to mark publicly the passing of one of their own, probably with a minute's silence before the race in Hungary.

"It is only right that we pay tribute to a fine young man and a fine driver who was so unfortunate," Ecclestone said. "It is one of the risks of a high-speed sport and it is so sad that Jules paid the ultimate price. But all of us in Formula One will want to remember him."

Meanwhile, Ferrari's former chairman Luca di Montezemolo has revealed that Bianchi was being lined up by the team as the man to replace Kimi Raikkonen before the Frenchman's accident last October.

"Jules was one of us," Montezemolo told Sky Sports Italia. "He was part of the Ferrari family and the driver we had chosen for the future, once the collaboration with Raikkonen was finished."

Raikkonen, the Finn who won the 2007 world championship with Ferrari, returned to the Italian team for the 2014 season on a two-year contract that expires at the end of this year.

Former Ferrari principal Stefano Domenicali confirmed separately to Sky that the team had had big plans for Bianchi, who joined Ferrari's academy in 2009 and was a test driver for the team.

"Jules was always at Maranello," said the Italian. "Every day he came to the factory to grow and nurture his dream of driving for Ferrari.

"Our idea was that, after Marussia, he should go to another team to grow and be ready for the big leap. That is what we planned some years ago. But unfortunately fate took him away."

Only days before his crash at Suzuka, Bianchi had spoken about his readiness to race for Ferrari.

"He was a first-class lad, private, quick, polite, extremely devoted to Ferrari and with a sure future," said Montezemolo.

"A bitter destiny has carried him away, leaving us with a huge emptiness," he added.

Bianchi, 25, should have been remembered for a glittering F1 career but his name will now appear as a sad statistic as the first driver to be die as a result of driving in a Grand Prix since Ayrton Senna in 1994.

As in the case of Senna, Bianchi's death has triggered a review of safety in a sport in danger of being lulled into a false sense of security. New measures have been introduced by Jean Todt, president of the FIA, the governing body, and a friend of the Bianchi family through Nicolas, his son, who was Jules's manager.

Bianchi was the victim of a "perfect storm" as the Japanese Grand Prix was played out in dreadful conditions and failing light on the famous Suzuka circuit. Bianchi's car careered off the slippery track at 120mph and slammed into a recovery tractor picking up the stricken Sauber belonging to Adrian Sutil. (Agencies)