Thursday, 05 July 2012
Categories: News - General

Surgery: F1 test driver Maria de Villota has lost her right eye after a crash in England on Wednesday (AEST).

Surgeons forced to remove eye of pioneer Formula One test driver Maria de Villota

FORMULA One test driver Maria de Villota, seriously injured in a crash yesterday, has lost her right eye.

The Spanish driver underwent several hours of surgery at a Cambridge University hospital after sustaining serious head and facial injuries.

A statement by John Booth, team principal of Marussia, for which the 32-year-old drives, said:

“Maria emerged from theatre at Addenbrooke’s Hospital this morning after a lengthy operation to address the serious head and facial injuries she received in the accident at Duxford Airfield yesterday.

“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 1 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.”

De Villota had just finished a run at the Duxford airfield when she hit a parked transport truck after the MR-01 car she was driving for the first time suddenly accelerated.

Eye-witnesses reported seeing de Villota’s helmet hit the side of the truck.

She was motionless for 10 to 15 minutes before slight movement was seen in her hands. It took emergency crews up to an hour to free her from the wreck.

An ambulance spokesman said she had suffered “life-threatening injuries”.

Marussia later released a statement to say she was conscious.

Back to the homepage