Story highlights
Marussia F1 team rules out car as cause of Maria De Villota's crash
De Villota lost her right eye following a crash at a test event this month
The Spaniard needed two operations after hitting a stationary truck
The 32-year-old is one of just two female drivers contracted to an F1 team
The Marussia Formula One team has ruled out a mechanical fault as the cause of a test crash which resulted in its female driver losing her right eye.
Maria de Villota was left in a serious condition after colliding with a stationary truck during a test event at a British airfield earlier this month, and needed two operations.
The Russian-owned marque has conducted extensive tests of the MR01 car involved in the incident, alongside investigations by British regulator the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and an external forensic body, but concluded a vehicular fault was not to blame.
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“We are satisfied that the findings of our internal investigation exclude the car as a factor in the accident,” Marussia team principal John Booth said in a statement.
“We have shared and discussed our findings with the HSE 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.”
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De Villota, who was driving the MR01 for the first time before the crash, is one of only two female drivers contracted to an F1 team. The other, Britain’s Susie Wolff, has a development role at Williams.
The Spaniard’s father Emilio de Villota was also an F1 driver between 1976 and 1982.
Marussia will now continue its preparations for this weekend’s German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, the 10th race of the 2012 season.
