Three days after her horror testing crash, Maria de Villota remains in a “critical but stable condition”, her sister Isabel has revealed.
Spaniard de Villota, 32, suffered severe facial and head injuries and lost her right eye after the accident, and underwent a long surgery in a Cambridge hospital.
“I hope she can recover as much and possible to have a normal life,” reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel said at Silverstone on Thursday, according to Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper. “We don’t know what happened, whether it was a mechanical failure or a mistake — I have talked with Timo Glock and even the team doesn’t know what happened,” added the German.
“The most important thing is that she recovers,” said Vettel.
The Daily Mail newspaper said doctors are relieved that de Villota has no swelling on her brain. Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said she is currently in an artificial coma but has suffered “no new complications” in the wake of the surgery.
“On Friday, she will be operated on again,” the report added.
Marussia racer Glock admitted the team is in a sombre mood ahead of its home race.
“Especially for the people who were there (at Duxford),” he said, “it is difficult, but it is not normal for any of the team at Silverstone.”