Death of Maria de Villota

The Spanish press announced this morning the death of Maria de Villota in her hotel room in Seville. The 33-year-old Spaniard, daughter of the former pilot of F1 Emilio de Villota made headlines when he survived a terrible accident last year during an aero test session with Marussia F1 Team at Duxford Aerodrome.

Her motorsport career ended following this tragedy where she lost her right eye. However, Maria de Villota had shown great combativeness by making several public appearances after her accident and by continuing to support female racing drivers.

Maria de Villota died of natural causes, the autopsy revealing that a heart attack following a cerebral hemorrhage was the cause of death. The former Marussia test driver was present in Seville to promote her book “La vida es un regalo” (Life is a gift).