A DRIVER of former Banbury-based F1 team Marussia has died from head injuries sustained in a crash at a race last year.

Jules Bianchi’s family posted the sad news on his official Twitter feed and it was later confirmed by the Manor F1 team.

The 25-year-old had been in a coma since the October 5 accident at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he collided at high speed with a mobile crane being used to pick up another crashed car.

A statement issued by his parents Philippe and Christine, his brother Tom and sister Melanie said: "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."

The Manor team tweeted: "We are devastated to lose Jules after such a hard-fought battle. It was a privilege to have him race for our team."

Retired world champion racing driver Mario Andretti tweeted: "My heartfelt condolences to the Jules_Bianchi family for this very sad ending of a promising young life. My prayers are with you. RIPJules."

Tributes flooded in for Bianchi who competed in 34 races over the 2013 and 2014 seasons, scoring the first championship points for Manor, then known as Marussia, by finishing fifth at last year's Monaco Grand Prix.