FORMER racing driver Dario Franchitti has received an MBE from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace, a year after he was forced to retire after a high speed crash.

The four-time IndyCar series winner stopped racing on medical advice after spending five days in hospital after suffering concussion, a fractured vertebrae and a broken ankle in the last-lap crash in Houston, Texas.

Franchitti, from Bathgate, West Lothian, who remains involved in motorsport with his former team in the US said: "It's a wonderful tribute, I'm very proud."

Actor Damian Lewis, star of TV drama Homeland, also picked up an MBE at yesterday's event. He is pictured with his wife, actress Helen McCrory.