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De Villota crash due to 'mistakes'

Spanish test driver Maria De Villota, seriously injured in a crash in July, is "in good overall shape" and was released from hospital, said Madrid La Paz hospital officials.

Marussia is tipped to reveal that de Villota's test crash was the result of a "chain of unfortunate circumstances and mistakes".

The team recently insisted that, following an internal investigation, a failure of the 2012 car had been ruled out as the cause of the incident.

'CAR NOT TO BLAME'

Team boss John Booth said: "We're now 100% confident that the car was not to blame in the slightest.

An external investigation is now underway, but Booth warned that it will be a "very long process".

In the meantime, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said Marussia is planning to release "within the next ten days" a further report about the circumstances leading up to de Villota's impact with a stationary truck.

The report said the finding will depict a "chain of unfortunate circumstances and mistakes" that led to the front of her helmet striking the truck loading ramp.

Auto Motor und Sport said de Villota's trajectory from the Duxford runway to the temporary pits included a curve, resulting in her struggling to find the clutch lever as the steering wheel was not in the normal nine and three o'clock position.

De Villota had reportedly already forgotten to push the neutral button, and with cold tyres and brakes then struggled to stop the car as the 559kW engine powered it forwards in a low gear.

A role may also have been played by "panic", or "doing the wrong thing at the wrong moment", the German publication added.
 
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