De Villota loses right eye but is “stable” after horror crash

The latest medical reports on the state of health of María de Villota, the Marussia Formula 1 team test driver who suffered a horrific crash on Tuesday, have been released with the consent of her family. It was stated that De Villota, 32, had lost her right eye as a result of the accident and her condition after an operation that spanned two days was described as “critical, but stable.”

“We are grateful for the medical attention María has received and she and her family would like to thank the neurological and plastic surgery teams,” the family statement said.

Marussia also issued a communiqué stating that De Villota’s life was not in danger “but it is still early to evaluate her injuries with certainty.” Carlos Gracia, the president of the Spanish Automobile Association, said in an interview with PuntoRadio that De Villota had undergone an operation on a fractured skull. “She can move her limbs and we will have to wait and see what happens with the head injury, where the brunt of the impact came,” he said.

The accident occurred at Duxford Airfield in Cambridgeshire in the UK, where De Villota was putting a Marussia MR-01 car through its paces. She had just completed her first installation run when the car suddenly accelerated into the back of a support truck. Racing experts believe an anti-braking system installed in F1 cars may have been the cause of the crash. The system ensures a car keeps running in a downpour so it can leave the track to avoid accidents.