MX23RW : Friday, December 13 17:33:29| >> :600:123619133:123619133:

Maria de Villota post-mortem confirms death "due to natural causes"

A post-mortem confirms that former F1 test driver Maria de Villota died from natural causes.

A post-mortem has confirmed that former Formula 1 test driver Maria de Villota died from natural causes.

The 33-year-old was found dead in her hotel room in Seville on Friday morning.

"I can confirm that her death was due to natural causes. The family has been informed," said Dr Joaquin Lucena Romero, head of forensic services at the Institute for Legal Medicine.

De Villota lost her right eye in July 2012 following a crash at Duxford Aerodrome while testing for the Marussia team.

She suffered severe head and facial injuries after colliding with a stationary service vehicle, but she eventually made a remarkable recovery.

Although no fault was found with the car, the Health and Safety Executive had been looking into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

In light of her death, a HSE spokeswoman said: "We don't know if there is a link between her injuries and her subsequent death, but we would expect to be kept informed of any new evidence."

De Villota was last year named as a founding ambassador for the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, which is a body aimed at promoting women in motorsport.

ID:110681: cacheID:110681:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:1953:
Written by
Robert Summerscales
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Maria de Villota in May 2013
Read Next:
De Villota found dead in hotel room
>
rhs 2.0


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!