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File photo of Maria de Villota in October, her first public appearance since the accident. Gregorio Lopez/CORDON/Press Association Images
Recovery

8 months after life-threatening F1 crash, de Villota cleared to drive again

The Spanish driver lost an eye during a test accident in England last summer.

THE DRIVER INJURED in a life-threatening Formula 1 crash last summer has been given permission to get back behind the wheel.

Maria de Villota, 32, lost an eye when the car which she was testing crashed into a truck ahead of the British Grand Prix last July.

After a remarkable recovery in eight months, de Villota revealed this week that she has been cleared to drive, although it is unlikely that she will ever race again.

“The distances I can already calculate quite well and it feels like nothing ever happened,” she told AFP.

At the end of the day my natural habitat is in a car and I am happiest in that environment. I missed it.

De Villota was testing a car for the Marussia team at Duxford Airfield in Cambridgeshire when the accident happened on 3 July.

The daughter of former Spanish Formula One driver Emilio De Villota, she had previously raced in Spanish Formula Three and the Daytona 24 Hours.

She added: “When your life is saved no one owes you anything. I don’t hold any rancour towards the sport. The only thing I want is for the safety in races and tests to be improved.

“I will collaborate with them on what is currently lacking. Moreover, I feel very grateful to all the teams and drivers who have supported me after the accident.”

– Additional reporting by AFP

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