Formula One test driver Maria de Villota was found dead in her Spanish hotel room on Oct. 11. Villota was staying at the Seville hotel to speak at a conference titled "What Really Matters." She was also preparing to release a book, called "Life is a Gift," which chronicled her life as a female test driver and how she recovered following a near fatal accident last year.
Villota lost her right eye and fractured her skull at a test in England in July 2012. The 33-year-old recovered from the injuries but never went back to driving, instead becoming an inspirational speaker for aspiring female drivers.
According to the Daily Mail, Spanish police said Villota died from "apparent natural causes" but could not confirm until an autopsy had been completed.
"Everything is pointing to Maria's death being the result of natural causes," a spokesman for Spain's National Police in Seville said. "Officers found no suspicious substances or medicines in her room and there were no signs of violence either in the room or on her body. The post-mortem has yet to take place but there is nothing at this stage to intricate a violent death or suicide."
Villota's friend, Alfonso Jimenez, told the Daily Mail that she had contacted him around midnight - seven hours before she was found dead - to invite him to her book signing on Monday, Oct. 14.
"I read the email, went to bed and woke up this morning to discover she was dead," he said. "I'm in total shock. There was no one with more desire for life than Maria de Villota."
The death came as a shock to not only her family but everyone in the racing community. Driver Fernando Alonso said that he was stunned by the news and asked people to pray for her family.
"I don't know what to say. Pray for her, for her family and for the whole motorsport family," Alonso. "She was loved by everybody. I don't really know what to say."
