María de Villota Comba (13 January 1979[1] – 11 October 2013) was a Spanish racing driver who competed in Superleague Formula and Euroseries 3000.

[3] On 7 March 2012, it was announced that de Villota had joined Marussia F1 Team as a test driver,[4] with the opportunity to sample Formula One machinery later in the year.

[5] At approximately 9:30 on 3 July 2012, De Villota was involved in an accident at Duxford Aerodrome in England while carrying out straight-line testing for Marussia, her first time in the car.

[9] The following day, Marussia team principal John Booth said De Villota remained in a "critical but stable" condition in hospital and had lost her right eye.

[14] After a stay of 17 days, De Villota left the hospital and returned to Spain, having escaped severe neurological damage.

[16] She revealed that she had lost her senses of smell and taste, still suffered from headaches, and was scheduled to undergo further surgery, but that she was open to a future return to racing if she were to be granted a licence, and that she also wished to become involved in promoting safety improvements in motorsport.

[18] De Villota married Rodrigo García Millán, a personal trainer and owner of Oxigeno Training, on 28 July 2013 in Seville,[19] less than three months before her death.

On 5 July 2017, the final turn on the circuit that leads to the pit straight was named Curva María de Villota in her memory.