Formula One driver Jules Bianchi has died in hospital nine months after crashing at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The 25-year-old Marussia driver had been in a coma since October 2014 after suffering a diffuse axonal injury following a collision with a crane on the side of the Suzuka circuit.
Bianchi had been receiving treatment at a hospital in Nice, France but his family announced his passing in the early hours of Saturday morning.
A statement read: 'It is with deep sadness that the parents of Jules Bianchi, Philippe and Christine, his brother Tom and sister Melanie, wish to make it known that Jules passed away last night at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) in Nice, (France) where he was admitted following the accident of 5th October 2014 at Suzuka Circuit during the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix.
'Jules fought right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle came to an end. 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.
'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.'
Manor Marussia tweeted: 'We are devastated to lose Jules after such a hard-fought battle. It was a privilege to have him race for our team.'
Earlier in the week Bianchi's father Philippe revealed the suffering his family had been under as they waited for their son to show signs of improvement.
'It's unbearable, it is a daily torture,' he told France Info. 'It sometimes seems crazy because for me, it is certainly worse than if he had died in the accident. Because we don't have the power to help him more.
'In general, progress must be made in the first six months and it has been nine months and Jules is still not awake and there is no significant progress.
'The passing time, it makes me less optimistic than I was two or three months after the accident, when we were hoping for a better outcome.'
Bianchi entered F1 as a test driver for Ferrari in 2011 before joining Force India the following season.
Bianchi pictured during a press conference in August 2014, two months before his fatal crash in October
Manor Marussia tweeted their condolences after hearing the sad news after their driver Bianchi
In 2013, the Frenchman made his debut for Marussia – finishing 15th at the Australian Grand Prix. He failed to win a point that season but managed a 13th-place finish at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Bianchi scored his and Marussia's first points in F1 at the Monaco Grand Prix the next season when he finished ninth, and he impressed so much so that he was tipped as a future Ferrari driver.
Bianchi's fateful accident happened when he lost control of his car during wet conditions at the Suzuka circuit and collided with a tractor crane that was removing Adrian Sutil's Sauber which had crashed a lap earlier.
The race was red flagged and ended nine laps early as medics attended to Bianchi, who was later taken to hospital and underwent surgery on a severe head injury. He remained in hospital in Japan before later being moved to France but failed to show any improvement in his condition.
Following Bianchi's accident, F1 chiefs launched an investigation and shifted the start times of five Grand Prix for this season so that no race would start with a risk of running in bad light.
The times for Australia (now 4pm), Malaysia (3pm), China (2pm), Japan (2pm) and Russia (2pm) are all one hour earlier than they were in 2014.
Bianchi lost his battle after the crash which occurred on the Suzuka Circuit in October
Bianchi entered F1 as a test driver for Ferrari in 2011 before joining Force India the following season, and the Frenchman made his debut for Marussia in 2013
JULES BIANCHI: THE PROMISING YOUNG DRIVER FROM A RACING DYNASTY
Jules Bianchi was born on 3 August 1989 in Nice, France and made his Formula One debut in 2013, driving for Marussia alongside Max Chilton.
The unmarried Frenchman has previously raced in Formula Renault 3.5, the GP2 Series and Formula Three.
The 25-year-old entered Formula One as a test driver in 2011 at Ferrari, and for Force India the following season.
Bianchi is the grandson of Mauro Bianchi, three-times World Champion in the GT category.
He is also the grandnephew of Lucien Bianchi who won the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans and competed in nineteen Grands Prix in the Formula One World Championship between 1959 and 1968, with a podium finish in Monaco
Since 2013, Bianchi has been a race driver with the Marussia Formula One Team.
He has been tipped as a future prospect for Ferrari's main team, and has consistently finshed ahead of teammate Max Chilton.
He failed to finish the Grand Prix in Japan in 2013 after crashing out of the Suzuka race circuit just yards from the spot of his accident in October.
1989: August 3, born in Nice.
2007: Moves into French Formula Renault 2.0 after starting his racing career in karting - winning five races to take the championship. Also races in the Formula Renault Eurocup on three occasions.
2008: Makes the move to the Formula Three Euro Series after signing with ART Grand Prix and finishes third in the standings in maiden year. Also wins the Masters of Formula Three in Holland, where he races against fellow Formula One drivers Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo and Marussia team-mate Max Chilton.
2009: Stays with the ART team and, with team-mates including Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Gutierrez, secures championship with nine wins.
2010: Steps up to GP2, competing in GP2 Asia and the GP2 Series with the ART Grand Prix team. Involved in the fight for the Asian championship before suffering a broken vertebra at a race in Hungary.
2011: Links up again with Gutierrez at ART and finishes second in the GP2 Asia Series behind Romain Grosjean. Also fills the role of test and reserve driver with Ferrari's Formula One team.
2012: Loaned by Ferrari to Force India, where he again acts as reserve driver, taking part in nine practice sessions while racing in Formula Renault 3.5.
2013: Earns a race seat with the Marussia Formula One team, with a 13th-placed finish in Malaysia his best result of the season.
2014: Retained by Marussia and scores both his and the team's first points in Formula One when he finishes eighth in Monaco. Linked with a possible move to Ferrari but the deal to take four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull scuppers any move.
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