French Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi has died following the injuries he sustained in last October’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Bianchi suffered brain injuries when his Marussia collided with a recovery tractor during wet conditions in the closing stages of the race.
The driver had been in a coma in the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) in Nice, France, for the last nine months before succumbing to his injuries.
A statement from the Bianchi family said that the 25-year-old passed away on July 17.
“Jules fought right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle came to an end,” said the family.
“The pain we feel is immense and indescribable. We wish to thank the medical staff at Nice’s CHU who looked after him with love and dedication.
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“We also thank the staff of the General Medical Center in the Mie Prefecture (Japan) who looked after Jules immediately after the accident, as well as all the other doctors who have been involved with his care over the past months.
“Furthermore, we thank Jules’ colleagues, friends, fans and everyone who has demonstrated their affection for him over these past months, which gave us great strength and helped us deal with such difficult times.
“Listening to and reading the many messages made us realise just how much Jules had touched the hearts and minds of so many people all over the world.
“We would like to ask that our privacy is respected during this difficult time, while we try to come to terms with the loss of Jules.”
Bianchi had been in his second Formula 1 season at the time of the crash, scoring Marussia’s maiden points earlier in the year at Monaco.
The nephew of former grand prix driver and Le Mans winner Lucien Bianchi, Jules graduated from karts to single seaters in 2007, initially competing in Formula Renault 2.0.
He then spent two years in the Euro F3 Series, winning the title in 2009, which brought with it a Ferrari Driver Academy contract.
Two years in GP2 netted a pair of third place season finishes, before splitting his 2012 season between finishing second in Formula Renault 3.5 and Formula 1 test driver duties with Force India.
Narrowly missing out on a Force India race drive, Ferrari placed Bianchi in a Marussia for 2013, where the Frenchman outshone team-mate Max Chilton in an uncompetitive car.
More signs of promise during 2014 had strengthened Bianchi’s reputation as one of the championship’s rising stars prior to his horrific crash at Suzuka.
Bianchi is the first driver to die from injuries sustained in a Formula 1 grand prix since Ayrton Senna in 1994.
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