Oban’s Susie Wolff, the Williams development driver, has paid tribute to Maria de Villota, who died yesterday.
Former test driver de Villota, on a tour promoting her autobiography Life Is A Gift, was found dead in a hotel room in Seville yesterday morning. She was 33.
A spokeswoman for the Seville police has indicated de Villota’s death was via natural causes – with the suspicion she suffered a heart attack – although added they could not yet provide confirmation.
Wolff said she was inspired by de Villota, especially in the build up to her first serious outing with the team at Silverstone in July. A tearful Wolff said: “She had such a spirit for life. What she came through was a testament to her strength of character and her positive outlook on life. She was just an incredible lady, no matter what she did on the race track. She was just an incredible character.”
The news filtered through just as the second practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix was drawing to a close and was naturally greeted with deep shock and sadness. The daughter of two-time grand prix starter Emilio de Villota chose a difficult career path for a woman.
But she competed in a variety of open-wheel and hard-top categories over the years.
After a test with Lotus Renault in August 2011, de Villota was given her big break in March last year when she was appointed test driver with Marussia.
An ambassadorial role followed in June with the FIA’s newly-founded Women & Motorsport Commission.
But then a month later de Villota was involved in a freak testing accident at Duxford Aerodrome.
She lost her right eye, and almost her life, but after a month in hospital she eventually made a remarkable recovery. Showing strength of character and a pioneering spirit, she was instrumental in not only the Women & Motorsport Commission, but also the FIA Action for Road Safety campaign and FIA Drivers’ Commission.
Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said: “She was the best person for that after going through what she did, to still come out there and be so convinced about the whole thing.”