Following a crash while testing the Marussia F1 car at Duxford in Cambridgeshire yesterday (July 3) the team have confirmed in a statement that test driver Maria de Vilotta has lost her right eye after sustaining “serious head and facial injuries” in the crash.
The accident occured as de Vilotta was performing aerodynamic testing on the runway at Duxford airfield – a common location for F1 teams’ straight line testing in recent years. It is understood that the Spaniard’s car hit one of the team’s parked support trucks.
Ambulance crews took Maria to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge with what where described as “life threatening injuries”.
A team statement issued at 4pm UK time confirmed that de Vilotta remains in a critcal by stable condition following an operation.
“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,” the team’s statement reads.
“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.”
The team also added that they have begun a “very comprehensive” analysis in order to find the causes of the accident.
