[Faline]

Doctors have been battling to save the F1 test driver's sight after she crashed her car into a lorry on her first Formula One test run.


Maria de Villota has lost her right eye and is "stable but critical" after an operation following her testing accident, Marussia Grand Prix team have said.

Surgeons at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, operated on the 32-year-old Spaniard from yesterday afternoon into the early hours of this morning after she suffered serious head and facial injuries at Duxford Airfield on Tuesday.

De Villota, whose father was an F1 ace, was driving the F1 car for the first time.


She had completed her first run when the race machine suddenly accelerated towards the side of the tailgate of its transport truck.

Her helmet took much of the impact, eye witnesses said, and she was treated at the scene and then rushed by air ambulance to Addenbrooke's Hospital where she was operated on for several hours overnight.

A Marussia statement said: "A surgical team at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge embarked on a lengthy procedure to address the serious head and facial injuries sustained by Maria in the accident.

"John Booth, Team Principal of the Marussia F1 Team, with the consent and support of Maria's family, would like to give the following update, which provides as much detail as is possible at this time.

"We are grateful for the medical attention that Maria has been receiving and her family would like to thank the Neurological and Plastics surgical teams.

"However it is with great sadness that I must report that, due to the injuries she sustained, Maria has lost her right eye.

"Maria's care and the wellbeing of her family remain our priority at this time. Her family are at the hospital and we are doing everything possible to support them.

"We ask for everyone's patience and understanding with regard to updates on Maria's condition. We will provide further information when it is appropriate to do so and with consideration for her family.

"In the meantime, we would all like to take this opportunity to praise the emergency services at Duxford Airfield, who were on stand-by yesterday, as is usual procedure for a Formula One test.

"With regard to the accident, we have embarked on a very comprehensive analysis of what happened and this work continues for the

moment.

"Finally, we have been overwhelmed by messages of support for Maria, her family and the Team and we would like to express our sincere gratitude for those."

The exact cause of the accident is not yet known. Grand Prix cars have extremely complex start and stop procedures that can involve hitting a series of paddles and buttons in the right order.

This is combined with anti-stall systems, launch control, automatic clutches and all will be looked at in detail in the on-going investigation.

BBC Radio Cambridgeshire presenter Chris Mann, who saw the accident, said: "She got into the car, fired it up and did a test run at probably about 200mph in the rain.

"The car was slightly misfiring but there didn't seem to be any concerns.

"She came back into the area we were in with the engineers. She slowed down but then suddenly, inexplicably accelerated through the crowd and smashed into the side of the truck.

"The top of her car and her helmet seemed to take the brunt of it.

"She didn't move for about 15 minutes. Fire crews were there within seconds and the ambulance within minutes.

"After a while we thought we saw some movement of her hands but she appeared to be unconscious or unable to move for quite some time."

The vids of the crash keep getting removed from youtube. Will keep trying to find one.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wTw9TRahF3g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Sandbwoy]

I had been trying to find footage of the crash too, but without success. If videos keep being removed from youtube, someone obviously has that footage. It's only a matter of time before we find it.

[DiamondSmiles]

I was looking, too! No luck here - yet!

[durt]

hopefully she recovers

[Sharon]

That's awful, poor woman

[kellyhound]

damn

[gatagato]

Female Race Driver De Villota Dies
MADRID October 11, 2013 (AP)
She has been found dead in a hotel room in Seville, Spain.

Maria De Villota, 33, famously lost an eye in a freak accident at Duxford Aerodrome, Cambridgeshire, in July last year.

She was the daughter of former F1 driver Emilio De Villota, and competed in F3, GTs, touring cars and the Superleague Formula before joining up with the Marussia team last year.

It was while testing for Marussia that De Villota lost her right eye.

Despite spending a month in hospital, De Villota rebuilt her life and became part of the FIA's Women In Motorsport commission.

It is thought she was promoting her autobiography at the time of her death, with local media reports stating that she was found in a hotel room in Seville.


A statement on De Villota's Facebook page, signed by her family, read: "Dear friends: Maria has left us.

"She had to go to heaven like all angels. We are thankful to God for the extra year and a half that he left her with us."

With the news breaking in the paddock in Suzuka just as the second practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix had concluded, Marussia declined to comment.

A spokesperson said: "We have only just heard the news and we are awaiting to find out more.

"We will comment at an appropriate time. If the reports are true, then it is obviously very tragic."

Members of the motorsport community took to Twitter to pay tribute to the young driver.

A message from Sauber F1 team read: "We are shocked to hear about the death of Maria de Villota. Our sincerest condolences and sympathy to her family for this tragic loss."

Caterham F1 Team added: "We'd like to echo the thoughts of the whole paddock and express our deepest condolences on the news of Maria de Villota's passing. RIP."

Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok wrote: "Tragic news about Maria de Villota. Sat next to her just a couple weeks ago at FIA Drivers Comm meeting. Was doing a lot for women in racing."

Sahara Force India added: "Very sad news coming from Spain about brave Maria de Villota passing away. Our thoughts are with Maria's family and friends in this moment."

Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn, who worked alongside De Villota as an ambassador for the Women in Motorsport commission, paid her own tribute.

"It didn't take her any time at all until she was back (from her accident) and was planning to maybe even drive," Kaltenborn told Five Live.

"But more important for her was to really go out there and give other people the courage that you can still do so much, even if you have such a major setback.

"She's been one of the pillars of the work the FIA ambassador programme has been doing, because when you go out there you need to have credibility, a strong personality and you need to be able to reach out to people and that's all she could do.

"She had such a tragic experience and yet she had all that courage to be out there and talk about it and still to believe in that cause, and she always had that smile on her face."
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/m...m-8873483.html

De Villota posted this picture on her Twitter account yesterday with the caption: "With my friend Manuel, and I speak of him in @ yo_dona Nice to see him again and talk"

[Illusion]

Women shouldn't race.

[DEWBZ]

how did she die?

[Megamel29]

That's sad. I wonder if her death was related to her previous injuries or what happened?