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Nine months after a terrifying crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, F1 driver Jules Bianchi has died.

The 25-year-old French driver has passed away following injuries suffered after a crash during the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit on October 5, 2014.

During the race last year, Bianchi spun off the wet track and struck a tractor crane that was retrieving Adrian Sutil’s Sauber. The result of the impact left the entire rear end of Bianchi’s car destroyed and the left side air intake was completely shaved off. In the accident, Bianchi’s head made contact with the back of the machine, causing a diffuse axonal injury, a common traumatic brain injury. Since the tragic accident, Bianchi has been put into a comatose state and hospitalized until his recent passing.

“Jules fought right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle came to an end,” said the Bianchi family in a released statement.

“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. 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.”

Born on August 3, 1989, in Nice, France, Bianchi first entered the world of F1 racing in 2011 as a test driver for Ferrari and then for Force India before making his racing debut with Marussia in 2013. He placed 15th in his first ever F1 race at the Australian GP. In 2014 he scored his first points as an F1 driver, and the first points for the fledgling Marussia team, at the historic Monaco Grand Prix. Later that year is when Bianchi suffered his tragic accident.

[Source: Motorsport.com]