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