A DRIVER for former Banbury-based F1 team Marussia has dedicated his latest win to an ex-team mate who died on Friday.

Jules Bianchi, 25, died from head injuries sustained in a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix on October 5 last year.

He had been in a coma since the accident, where he collided at high speed with a mobile crane being used to pick up another crashed car.

His former team mate Max Chilton, who won Saturday’s Indy Lights race, dedicated the victory to Bianchi.

Chilton, 24, said: “I’ve learned a lot from him, and he was part of that win. I probably thought of him every five or 10 laps, because he was a driver destined to probably be a world champion.”

Tributes flooded in for Bianchi who competed in 34 races over the 2013 and 2014 seasons, scoring the first championship points for the Manor F1 team, then known as Marussia, by finishing fifth at last year’s Monaco Grand Prix.

Top News

A statement issued by Bianchi’s 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 F1 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.”