Marussia rules out car fault as cause of De Villota crash

John Booth, team principal of the Marussia Formula 1 Team, on Monday announced the results of a two-week investigation into the accident at Duxford Airfield in England that left test driver María de Villota in a serious condition.

“We are satisfied that the findings of our internal investigation exclude the car as a factor in the accident. We have shared and discussed our findings with the [UK] Health and Safety Executive for their consideration as part of their ongoing investigation.

This has been a necessarily thorough process in order to understand the cause of the accident. We have now concluded our investigatory work and can again focus on the priority, which continues to be Maria’s wellbeing. In that regard, we continue to support Maria and the De Villota family in any way we can,” read a statement on the team’s website.

De Villota, who was making her debut as a F1 test driver with Marussia, crashed into a stationary support truck after completing a straight-line aerodynamic test. She was rushed to hospital and underwent surgery on a fractured skull, losing her right eye in the process. She remains under observation but is conscious and able to speak.

Racing experts believe an anti-braking system installed on all F1 cars, designed to prevent the engine cutting out in wet conditions, may have been the cause of the accident. Another theory is that De Villota did not see the truck’s cargo-lift, which was 70 centimeters off the ground, due to bad visibility.