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Adapted from GMM
Marussia team boss John Booth on Sunday said that the team's test driver, who lost her right eye after an horror testing crash at Duxford airfield on Tuesday, is now awake and "talking with her family".
He said that is "great news".
Furthermore, Charlie Whiting, the FIA's top F1 official, has described de Villota's crash earlier this week as a "one in five million" freak accident.
"It was so incredibly unfortunate," the race director, starter and technical and safety delegate told the Spanish sports newspaper Marca at Silverstone.
"I think that if Felipe (Massa)'s accident (in 2009) was one in a million, then Maria's was one in five million," Briton Whiting added.
"The circumstances were just so unique that it was just incredible bad luck," he said.
Whiting said that, even at the time of de Villota's incident, the FIA was already looking at ways to better protect the drivers' heads.
"We're looking more at the case of an impact with a wheel, because this can happen several times in a year. Maria's circumstances may never occur again," added Whiting.
"In Maria's case, yes it (head protection) would have worked, but perhaps in many other cases the problems would be worse, like extraction or visibility.
"We have to make sure we aren't making something better for one type of accident but worse for three more."
Marussia team boss John Booth on Sunday said that the team's test driver, who lost her right eye after an horror testing crash at Duxford airfield on Tuesday, is now awake and "talking with her family".
He said that is "great news".
Furthermore, Charlie Whiting, the FIA's top F1 official, has described de Villota's crash earlier this week as a "one in five million" freak accident.
"It was so incredibly unfortunate," the race director, starter and technical and safety delegate told the Spanish sports newspaper Marca at Silverstone.
"I think that if Felipe (Massa)'s accident (in 2009) was one in a million, then Maria's was one in five million," Briton Whiting added.
"The circumstances were just so unique that it was just incredible bad luck," he said.
Whiting said that, even at the time of de Villota's incident, the FIA was already looking at ways to better protect the drivers' heads.
"We're looking more at the case of an impact with a wheel, because this can happen several times in a year. Maria's circumstances may never occur again," added Whiting.
"In Maria's case, yes it (head protection) would have worked, but perhaps in many other cases the problems would be worse, like extraction or visibility.
"We have to make sure we aren't making something better for one type of accident but worse for three more."