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Tributes pour in for pioneer Maria de Villota

‘Inspirational’ Formula One driver found dead in Spanish hotel

Tributes poured in for Maria de Villota on Friday after the former Formula One test driver was found dead in Seville.

De Villota, who was on a tour promoting her autobiography Life Is A Gift, was found dead in a hotel room. She was 33.

Madrid-born de Villota, lost her right eye in a crash last July while testing for the Marussia team.

She suffered severe head injuries after colliding with a lorry at Duxford Aerodrome, Cambridgeshire, but had been cleared to resume driving.

Via a statement on her Facebook page, de Villota’s family said: “Dear friends: Maria has left us. She had to go to heaven like all angels. We are thankful to God for the extra year and a half that he left her with us.”

A spokeswoman for the Seville police said that de Villota’s death was from natural causes — with the suspicion she suffered a heart attack — but added: “We cannot confirm anything.”

The daughter of two-time grand prix starter Emilio de Villota achieved success in a sport dominated by men, competing in a variety of open-wheel and hard-top categories over the years. After a test with Lotus Renault in August 2011, de Villota was given her big break in March last year when she was appointed test driver with Marussia.

An ambassadorial role followed in June with the FIA’s newly founded Women & Motorsport Commission, but then a month later de Villota was involved in a freak testing accident at Duxford Aerodrome. De Villota survived but lost an eye.

Showing strength of character and a pioneering spirit, she was instrumental in not only the Women & Motorsport Commission, but also the FIA Action for Road Safety campaign and FIA Drivers Commission.

One of those inspired by de Villota was current Williams development driver Susie Wolff, especially in the build-up to her first serious outing with the team at Silverstone in July.

Wolff said: “I can remember her sending me a message before the test. She said: ‘I can imagine you are starting to get apprehensive, but don’t think twice about it. You can do it. Just do what you do.’ She knew from the testing she had done and the time she had had in the car, that it was possible.

“She knew that women could compete at that level and that’s why, after her accident and her not being able to do that any more, she just wanted someone to know it was possible.”

Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn came to know de Villota through the Women & Motorsport Commission, describing her as “bubbly, full of life.” McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh and chairman of the Formula One Teams’ Association also paid tribute, saying: “She was an inspiration, not just to women in this sport but also to all those who suffered life-threatening injuries.

“Her story, determination and subsequent inspiration flowed from F1 through sport as a whole.”

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