Maria de Villota could leave Addenbrook's hospital in Cambridge (UK) and return to her native Spain by the end of the week, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports. Marussia's 32-year-old female test driver has been in the hospital since losing her right eye after the horror accident at Duxford airfield early last week. De Villota's sister Isabel said on Monday that Maria has moved out of the intensive care unit, after Marussia chief John Booth revealed she had emerged from an artificial coma to speak […]

Maria de Villota has moved out of the intensive care unit at a Cambridge (UK) hospital. Marussia boss John Booth said on Sunday that the team's test driver is no longer in an artificial coma and has therefore been able to speak with her family, including her father and former F1 driver Emilio de Villota. "Her level of sedation has been reduced markedly," he told the Spanish broadcaster Antena3. De Villota's sister Isabel is quoted by the Spanish media as saying the 32-year-old has "made […]

Maria De Villota's family has said that the Spanish driver remains in a critical condition in hospital. "We have at least been able to take encouragement from the fact that Maria has remained stable throughout since the accident", the family said in a statement. "We, the family, are supporting each other here at Maria’s side and we take great comfort from the remarkable medical care she has been receiving. We remain positive and this is due, in no small part, to the overwhelming expression of […]

Sunny skies and warm conditions greeted the paddock on Thursday afternoon, but most of the talk was about the much anticipated rain due to fall on Friday. Silverstone is set to impliment an emergency parking system should Friday turn into a washout. A few of the drivers were quizzed about the inclement weather conditions, although Kimi Raikkonen looked at the sky, noted the sun, shrugged and simply said ‘if it’s wet it’s wet’. Jenson Button was asked about his woeful Silverstone record, and hoped that […]

Spain's motor racing federation has vowed to help get to the bottom of the incident involving seriously injured female test driver Maria de Villota. But Carlos Gracia, president of the RFEdA, expressed caution in light of rampant speculation following the 32-year-old Spaniard's impact with a team truck whilst 'straightline testing' Marussia's 2012 car in the UK on Tuesday. De Villota is currently in hospital with reportedly "severe facial and head injuries". Amid some reports she was fighting for her life and unconscious for a long […]

Timo Glock will almost certainly sit out Sunday's European grand prix. The German sat out qualifying on Saturday, and according to multiple media sources he was travelling to a local hospital for checks whilst his usual rivals were in action on the Valencia street circuit. Marussia has described the 30-year-old's ailment as a "stomach bug", but sources say he could be suffering from either food poisoning or a virus. Bild newspaper said he will "almost certainly" not race on Sunday, even though the FIA has […]

Maria de Villota is not ruling out appearing during a Friday morning practice session some time in 2012. The 32-year-old Spaniard made international headlines in March when she signed with Marussia as a test driver. She subsequently admitted, however, that - despite travelling to all the grands prix with the former Virgin team this year - she is "not the reserve driver". De Villota, whose father Emilio is a former F1 driver, also clarified in March that she is not contracted to practice on Friday […]

Maria De Villota joining Marussia must be a positive, right? Well, no actually... Marussia’s announcement confirming that Maria De Villota will become the team’s test driver is apt considering that today (Thursday) is International Women's Day. Yet De Villota is rarity in Formula One, despite the fact that 50% of the globe is, probably, made up of women. You think about other sports for a moment – in Tennis, there is a separate game for women that isn’t as popular as the male game, but […]

Marussia has announced that Maria De Villota has joined the team as a test driver for the 2012 team. De Villota, 32, became the first woman to test a Formula One car last year since Katherine Legge in 2005. The Spaniard is unlikely to take part in practice sessions for the Russian team, although is all but confirmed for the young driver test in Abu Dhabi at the end of the season. "I am very happy to be joining the Marussia F1 Team test driver […]

Female Spanish driver Maria de Villota has hinted she may find out before Christmas if she will have an official role at Lotus in 2012. The 31-year-old said recently she is close to signing a contract to become third driver for the former Renault team in 2012. "You cannot assume something before it is assured," she is quoted by Marca sports newspaper, admitting that a F1 contract "would be the perfect Christmas gift". The last woman to enter the world championship was Italian Giovanna Amati, […]

Female Spanish driver Maria de Villota has revealed she is close to signing a contract to become third driver for the Renault-Lotus team in 2012. At an event on Wednesday, the 31-year-old was quoted as saying she expected to put pen to paper "later this year or early next year". She said the role is to be the "Friday or the replacement driver" at grands prix, acknowledging that her work will be "focused towards 2013", when she hopes to "be on the grid". "We have […]