Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi, who was critically injured in last month's Japanese Grand Prix, has come out of his induced artificial coma and is breathing unaided, his family confirmed.
The Frenchman, who drove for the Marussia F1 Team, suffered a diffuse axonal injury to his brain during a crash with another car during the race and underwent immediate surgery.
A statement released by the Bianchi family announced that the vital signs of the 25-year-old are normal though he still remains critical, and that he has been shifted to a hospital in France.
"Jules is no longer in the artificial coma in which he was placed shortly after the accident, however he is still unconscious. He is breathing unaided and his vital signs are stable but his condition is still classified as critical. His treatment now enters a new phase concerned with the improvement of his brain function," the statement read.
"Jules was transferred aeromedically from the Mie Prefectural general medical centre in Yokkaichi, Japan, to Le Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, where he arrived just a short time ago. Jules is now in the intensive care unit of Professors Raucoules and Ichai, where his care will also be monitored by Professor Paquis, head of neurosurgery service," the statement added.
Following Bianchi's crash, the Marussia team ran with only one car at the Russian Grand Prix before going into administration.
