Jules Bianchi was handed a Formula One lifeline and debut by Marussia after missing out on a Force India seat.
Taking the usual route of karting and then Formula Renault, Bianchi graduated to Formula 3 Euroseries where he won the prestigious Masters event at Zolder.
Dominating F3 in 2009, he won the title before moving on to GP2 with the ART team where he finished third in his first two campaigns.
In 2011 he was also named as a member of the Ferrari Drivers' Academy, however, it wasn't until 2012 that he signed with a Formula One team.
Filling the role of Force India's third and reserve driver that year, Bianchi had hoped to step up to the role of race driver this season.
Testing for the team in the pre-season Bianchi found himself in a shoot-out with former driver Adrian Sutil. However, it was the German who got the job.
Bianchi, though, was not on the sidelines for long as the Frenchman was offered a race-seat with Marussia when Luiz Razia failed to pay the bill.
Spending just two days in the car, the 23-year-old will line-up on this year's grid alongside Max Chilton in what could be a difficult season for Marussia as they have two rookies on the payroll.
Bianchi, however, is hoping his Friday experience from last year will pay dividends.
