María
de Villota is awake in hospital after suffering serious injuries in a
freak F1 testing accident on Tuesday morning. The Marussia reserve
driver collided with the tail lift of a support truck, which has left
the 32-year-old Spaniard with head and facial injuries.
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As can be seen in the background, the truck's tail lift invaded the Marussia cockpit
|
Marussia
first released an official statement after reports of an incident
began to circulate this morning. The latest communiqué comes at
3pm BST. De Villota, who was testing the car for the first time,
remains in the trauma centre of Addenbrooke’s Hospital in
Cambridge. The precise cause of the bizarre occurrence is yet to be
released.
.
Statement
from Marussia F1 Team, 3pm BST:
‘Further
to the accident involving the Marussia F1 Team’s Test Driver Maria
De Villota this morning, the team canconfirm that Maria was
transferred by ambulance from Duxford Airfield, where the accident
happened, to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.
Since
Maria’s arrival at the hospital at approximately 10.45hrs this
morning, she has been receiving the best medical attention possible
at the hospital, which is the region’s major trauma centre. Maria
is conscious and medical assessments are ongoing.
The team will await
the outcome of these assessments before providing further comment.
The
team’s first priority at this time is Maria and her family.’
Today’s
accident marks the first time a driver has suffered serious head
injuries at the wheel of a Formula 1 car since Felipe Massa’s
helmet was struck by an airborne steel spring during qualifying for
the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.
Profile:
[As per "The Telegraph"]
De
Villota, daughter of former F1 driver Emilio de Villota who started
two grands prix in 1977, was appointed test driver of
Russian-licensed Marussia on the 7 March this year which made her the
only female driver in such a role at the time as Williams have since
handed a similar development role to Suzie Wolff.
Prior
to this the 32-year-old Spaniard raced in a number of different
series, including Formula Three and the Daytona 24 hour race, before
trialling a Renault F1 car in August last year.
Racing
history:
- 2009 Formula Palmer Audi
- 2009 Trofeo Abarth Europe
- 2008 Euroseries 3000
- 2008 Italian Superstars
- 2007 ADAC Procar - Division I
- 2007 Spanish GT Championship
- 2006–07 WTCC
- 2005–06 Ferrari Challenge Europe
- 2001–05 Spanish F3
Later
that month, Renault confirmed she had made her F1 test debut in the
R29 at the Paul Ricard circuit and that they were in talks with her
management to sign her as a test driver.
Now
with Marussia, De Villota is a test driver and not the reserve driver
as she lacks the necessary super-licence for the role. Marussia began
life in F1 under the Virgin banner before rebranding in 2012, with
Charles Pic driving alongside Timo Glock.
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