Marussia says that Maria de Villota is in a ‘critical but stable’ condition after undergoing surgery today.
Team principal John Booth confirmed the sad news that she has lost her right eye as the result of the accident.
The team said: “Subsequent to yesterday’s official statements from the Marussia F1 Team, the surgical team at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge embarked on a lengthy procedure to address the serious head and facial injuries sustained by Maria in the accident. The operation began yesterday afternoon and she was in theatre until this morning. Maria remains in a critical but stable condition.”
Meanwhile Booth said: “Maria emerged from theatre at Addenbrooke’s Hospital this morning after a lengthy operation to address the serious head and facial injuries she received in the accident at Duxford Airfield yesterday.
“We are grateful for the medical attention that Maria has been receiving and her family would like to thank the Neurological and Plastics surgical teams. However it is with great sadness that I must report that, due to the injuries she sustained, Maria has lost her right eye.
“Maria’s care and the wellbeing of her family remain our priority at this time. Her family are at the hospital and we are doing everything possible to support them.
“We ask for everyone’s patience and understanding with regard to updates on Maria’s condition. We will provide further information when it is appropriate to do so and with consideration for her family.
“In the meantime, we would all like to take this opportunity to praise the emergency services at Duxford Airfield, who were on stand-by yesterday, as is usual procedure for a Formula One test.
“With regard to the accident, we have embarked on a very comprehensive analysis of what happened and this work continues for the moment.
“Finally, we have been overwhelmed by messages of support for Maria, her family and the Team and we would like to express our sincere gratitude for those.”
Adam Cooper F1 
Saddest article I can remember ever reading here. I’m really affected by this. Formula One has been so safe for so long. My best wishes go to Maria and the members of the Marussia team.
Very sad that she has now lost her eye. I wonder if the FIA will now look at the locations & conditions where straight line testing & filming days take place. They certainly should.
had nothing to do with the location of the test or even the during a run of straight line testing, it happened when she was pulling into the “pits” and more than likely down to her inexperience with the anti stall, so let’s not send in the OH&S hounds just yet!!…
Accidents can happen anywhere but she drove into the tail lift of a van, which would never have been there in race conditions or an official test.
Prayers for her and for those who care for her, what a terrible thing to happen.
Actually lets send in the OH&S hounds right now. If the vehicle involved in the accident had been a forklift for arguments sake then the protocol as I understand it is when the vehicle is at rest the tines should be resting on the ground. With the places I’ve worked at you would never dream of walking away from a fork lift with the tines raised even a few inches off the ground.
The same should apply to a tail gate lift.
Test days should be run almost to a higher standard than regular race weekends as they are run as in this example at non F1 venues.
Yes, its one thing to have a malfunction or an error, and its another to have a hazard that turns something simple into a tragedy. My background is aviation, and whenver we investigated a mishap we typically found that at least three things went wrong, i.e., a safety proceedure wasn’t followed, a crucial step is missed, a mistake is made and it all adds up. This is not to point fingers at this point, no one knows what happened, surely not I, and I hope that they’ll be able to make necessary changes to prevent a repeat or worse. I do agree with you on test days, I suspect that will be the direction that the FiA and the teams go on this, rather than making changes to the car or helmets per se. Perhaps they will declare a moratorium on straight line testing until different standards are written, or perhaps allow testing on an approved circuit instead.