Marussia says Wednesday the 32-year-old Spaniard is in a critical but stable condition in a hospital after the accident at an English airfield a day earlier.

She is the sport’s first full-time female driver since Italy’s Giovanna Amati with the Brabham team in 1992.

The team says she was treated in a lengthy procedure for serious head and facial injuries sustained in the accident, when her racing car collided with a team vehicle.

De Villota underwent an operation that began on Tuesday afternoon and lasted until Wednesday morning. She was treated by neurological and plastic surgery teams.

Marussia Team Principal John Booth says ”with regard to the accident, we have embarked on a very comprehensive analysis of what happened.”

-AP