Terrible news that she has lost her eye but considering what happened to her, she was lucky that it could have been a lot worse. It could have easily been as bad as what happened to Helmuth Koinigg.
Maria de Villota
- Thread starter Jen
- Start date
There is no reason for a lorry to keep it's tailgate at that height it should be either down or up unless some lazy sods just wanted somewhere to sit whilst watching the test and drink from a flask of tea...
The Artist.....
Champion Elect
It does seem odd that pre-season testing needs to take place at designated Fia circuits with full marshalling and medical support, but straight line/constant radius tests can occur on an airfield with overly solid things for the cars to crash into, should anything go wrong! This is desperately sad news, both for Maria and her family. If anything good can come of this, then increased safety requirements for straight line tests can hopefully follow!
racecub
Champion Elect
Poor, poor girl. Life can be so cruel. It sounds as though she's out of immediate danger but she has to come to terms with the fact that her dream career is over. A very strange and very unlucky accident. It seems she'd finnished the test and was slowing right down to talk to people when the car took off. How sad.
Kewee
Race Winner
It can take weeks to determine whether a damaged eye will heal sufficiently to recover sight so when they say she has lost her eye it will mean exactly that. Regardless, the handicap suffered is identical. Absolutely tragic.
I fear the poor girl is horribly scarred...
teabagyokel TBY, I hear where you're coming from but i don't really agree, it seems like this was a freak accident where she lost control of the car for whatever reason including car malfunction. Yes the truck could have been somethere else, yes the backloader could have been higher, but just as equally the news could have been that a group of mechanics had been mown down when the problem occurred, would the answer be not to have mechanics around? I think we need to understand exactly what happened before too many judgments are made. Some have suggested that the pit entry limiter may have kicked in, or been accidentally activated, causing the acceleration. If that's true then I suggest the problem is a) that it can be accidentally engaged (a la Hamilton Brazil 2007?) and/or b) that it appears to actively accelerate to the limit instead of not allowing acceleration past the pit lane speed limit. Much like you see on a modern disaster analysis on telly, a chain of events occurred before the disaster itself.
Mezzer - I don't think you can completely legislate for accidents. While I would not recommend running a test without mechanics etc., I doubt the mechanics would be sitting around in front of the car while it was still in motion, freak accident or no.
I doubt that truck needed to be in front of the car, therefore it shouldn't have been.
I doubt that truck needed to be in front of the car, therefore it shouldn't have been.
I absolutely agree teabagyokel a truck is a solid object that can be moved and parked somewhere out of harms way so what was it doing in harms way with its bloody tailgate at half mast?
Maria has been moved out of the neurological crtical care unit at Alderbrooks Hospital on Monday, & is no longer receiving sedation, & is hoping to go home to Spain on Friday.
http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3213/7888805/De-Villota-out-of-ICU
http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3213/7888805/De-Villota-out-of-ICU
So does that mean Maria accidentally put her foot on the accelerator instead of the brake?
It would seem so Mephistopheles. If the HSE come up with the same findings, it would suggest that Maria has little or no chance of suing for compensation and Marussia can continue to race their below par motor.
Incubus I agree, when I read Mephistopheles comment I was thinking "Whaaattt????" This won't really shake out until the data on whether she commanded an acceleration, or did something like press the pit lane limiter, comes out. I'm presuming Marussia already know exactly what happened if they're prepared to state their innocence.
Jen I think she still has an argument that the truck should not have been positioned where it was. People win cases every day where the fault was at least partially theirs.
Jen I think she still has an argument that the truck should not have been positioned where it was. People win cases every day where the fault was at least partially theirs.
I've done a few driving experience days and, although nothing can compare to F1, it is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to even hit the accelerator peddle with your left foot due to the space restrictions. I still think driver error had a role to play, but I think hitting the accelerator with her left foot when going for the brake is very unlikely.
However, even if driver error played a role, there is no forgiving the fact that the the tail gate of that lorry was left down at head height. I think Marussia have something to answer for there. Also, I would expect the FIA to make a regulation for straight line tests along the lines of all team personnel and equipment being behind some sort of makeshift barrier, and the car being pushed in to the pit area by mechanics after it has stopped.
However, even if driver error played a role, there is no forgiving the fact that the the tail gate of that lorry was left down at head height. I think Marussia have something to answer for there. Also, I would expect the FIA to make a regulation for straight line tests along the lines of all team personnel and equipment being behind some sort of makeshift barrier, and the car being pushed in to the pit area by mechanics after it has stopped.
Some of the pedals I've seen are actually 'cages' i.e. have sides to keep the drive's feet in place. I agree with sushifiesta, some kind of foot crossover makes no sense to me at all.
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