Former Formula One test driver Maria de Villota has been cleared to get behind the wheel for the first time since losing her right eye in a crash. The Spanish driver suffered serious head and facial injuries in an accident last July when testing for Marussia for the first time in Cambridgeshire.

“Last week they gave me permission to return to driving,” she said. “The distances I can already calculate quite well and it feels like nothing ever happened.”

The 33-year-old, who said she still had headaches and “felt weak”, but was “getting on well”, returned to Spain shortly after the crash at Duxford Airfield and has spent the last seven months recovering.

“Very busy days take their toll, but I am calm because I know everything is going well,” continued the daughter of former F1 driver Emilio de Villota.

And despite her traumatic experience, her passion for the sport is undimmed. “At the end of the day, my natural habitat is in a car and I am happiest in that environment. I missed it,” she added.

Marussia insisted that the car was not at fault for the crash, but a detailed analysis was passed on to the English Health and Safety Executive.