Maria De Villotta loses eye in testing crash

Spanish driver Maria de Villota has lost her sight in one eye following her crash in a test for the Marussia team at Duxford, in Cambridgeshire, on Tuesday, the team have confirmed.

De Villota, 32, had just completed the first validation run for a new aerodynamic package for the MR-01 car which Timo Glock and Charles Pic will race in this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Eye witnesses say the car slowed in the pit area before suddenly accelerating and colliding with the tailboard of the team transporter.

Surgeons at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge embarked on lengthy treatment of her serious head and facial injuries, but team principal John Booth confirmed yesterday afternoon that she had lost her right eye.