Further surgery for Maria de Villota

Maria de Villota has undergone further surgery on her facial and skull injuries sustained during Tuesday's tragic accident.

Following Maria de Villota's accident during straight line testing for Marussia on Tuesday morning, the 32-year-old Spanish driver has unfortunately lost her right eye.

The crash happened after the Spaniard completing an installation circuit of the Duxford Airfield.

It was the first time Maria de Villota had driven for Marussia, but just as her initial run came to an end, tragedy struck. For as yet unknown reasons her car suddenly accelerated and crashed into the team truck.

Unfortunately the tailgate had apparently been lowered at the time and early reports suggested that De Villota's helmet took the brunt of the impact at around 30-40mph.

She was unconscious for around 15 to 20 minutes, while she was treated by paramedics and the ambulance service announced that she had suffered life-threatening injuries.

Initial reports that announced that she was conscious and in a stable condition had given hope to well wishers, but on Wednesday afternoon the team announced that following a lengthy procedure that kept her in theatre from Tuesday afternoon and into Wednesday morning, she had lost her right eye.

Her family released a brief statement on Thursday with de Villota remaining in Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge where she underwent the extensive surgery on Tuesday evening to repair her fractured skull and treat facial injuries.

On Friday she went back into theatre for a further procedure and the Marussia F1 team have released an update on her condition on their official website.

'Earlier today, Maria underwent further surgery at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. This was a planned procedure that would depend upon the continued stability of Maria’s head injuries, and this morning the medical team were sufficiently happy with her progress to allow the operation to go ahead.

'The surgeons successfully completed the next phase of surgery required to address Maria’s facial injuries. After the lengthy initial procedure, which commenced on Tuesday and concluded on Wednesday, today’s secondary operation took significantly less time.

'Since the operation today, Maria’s condition in relation to the head trauma she received has further improved, to the extent that she is now “serious but stable”.

'Whilst Maria remains acutely ill, this confirms that she has been responding well to the treatment she has received since her accident. Coupled with the significant progress that has been made with regard to her facial injuries, we feel sufficiently comfortable to proceed with a further update.