Maria De Villota was found dead in her hotel room in Seville, Spain, around 7 a.m. by her personal assistant. According to media sources in Spain, the autopsy, carried out in Seville's Forensic Institute, confirmed her death as "due to completely natural causes", the Associate Press reported.
The Independent News reported De Villota travelled to Seville to attend a conference on Friday. This Monday, the 33-year-old would have launched her autobiography, "Life Is A Gift", which included an account of how she overcame a serious accident in July 2012 while testing a Formula One car for the Marussia team.
In July of last year Villota, a former Marussia test driver, suffered a serious accident during a test at UK's Duxford airport causing her to lose her right eye and sustained life-threatening head injuries, according to the Formula 1 website.
She was born in Madrid in 1980, had been in motor-racing for 12 years and has competed in the Spanish Formula 3 and the Daytona 24 Hours race in the United States, Formula 1 reported. Villota had a degree in sports science and fulfilled her dream of driving a Formula 1 race car two years ago when she tested a Renault, according to The Independent.
After the accident, Villota continued to be involved in motorsport, becoming an Ambassador for Women in Motorsport with Formula One racing's governing body, the FIA, and also participating in both the FIA Drivers' Commission and its Action for Road Safety campaign, according to the AP.
"Dear friends: Maria has left us. She had to go to heaven like all angels. We are thankful to God for the extra year and a half that he left her with us," a statement on De Villota's Facebook page, signed by her family, reads.
Susie Wolff, a development driver for the Williams team, told AP that after her accident De Villota had asked her to carry on for her and all women drivers.
"She said to me: 'It's up to you to go out there and show them that [a woman driver in F1] is possible.'" Wolff said. "She knew that women could compete at that level and that's why, after her accident and her not being able to do that anymore, she just wanted someone to know it was possible."
