Tuesday, July 3, 2012

F1 woman test driver Maria De Villota seriously hurt

Maria De Villota, a test driver in Marussia - a backmarker team in F1 - is seriously injured in an accident. Maria De Villta, the 32 year old spaniard suffered serious injuries while taking part in a straight line test for Marussia.

Marussia was conducting this straightline test in Duxford airfield in Cambridgeshire when Maria De Villota crashed into a support truck after completing the first installation lap. After the installation lap, she came to a stop and when her mechanics approached the car, the car suddenly accelerated and crashed into a stationary support truck. The front of the car was completely smashed and her helmet was hit. She is supposed to have remained motionless for about 15 minutes and the first signs of life appeared when she moved her hands while paramedics were trying to shift her to the hospital.

The East of England paramedic spokesman Gary Sanderson was quoted as saying that the driver had "sustained life threatening injuries".

In the recent past, motorsports has struggled with deaths. F1 driver Felipe Massa came out of a life threatening injury when a spring penetrated his visor and he was out of action for half a season. The Marussia team hasn't revealed the data from the Car and the reason for the car suddenly accelerating and hitting a stationary vehicle. Was it plain misjudgement in the part of the driver or did she face any health problem which led to her losing control and accelerating after stopping? Answers to many of these questions will be found later. However, at this moment, the entire F1 community and the people in general will be praying for the speedy recovery of Maria De Villota.