Jules Bianchi dies

Nine months after suffering severe head injuries in a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, French Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi has died in hospital near his parents house in Nice.

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Just a few says before his 26th birthday, Bianchi lost the most important battle for life. He had been in coma since crashing his Marussia car into a crane vehicle at the wet Suzuka circuit last october.

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“Jules fought right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle came to an end. We thank Jules’s 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,” said Jules Bianchi’s family.

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“We are devastated to lose Jules after such a hard-fought battle. It was a privilege to have him race for our team,” tweeted Jules’ team Manor.

Bianchi is the first Formula 1 driver to die of the injuries in a Grand Prix since Brazilian Ayrton Senna was killed at the Imola circuit in 1994.