MADRID, 28 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, inaugurated this Monday a monolith in tribute to the pilot María de Villota on Melquíades Biencinto street in Puente de Vallecas, in front of the San Ramón Nonato parish, where the athlete is buried.
In addition to the mayor and the parents of the pilot, the delegate for Culture, Tourism and Sports, Andrea Levy, and the district councilor, Borja Fanjul, have also paid tribute to her memory, as well as representatives of municipal groups, family members and members of the Maria de Villota Foundation.
The placement of this monument was unanimously approved at the Puente de Vallecas district plenary session in November 2018. The design, chosen by the pilot’s family and by members of the foundation that bears her name, includes a granite monolith of 1.60 meters high, crowned by a plaque on which appears the red lucky star designed by the pilot herself, an image of her solidarity projects, and a phrase from Villota: “I wish that, without going through an accident like mine , you can feel the joy of being alive and enjoy the gift of life”.
Martínez-Almeida highlighted “the example and inspiration of people like María.” “She showed that, despite all the adversities, within each and every one of us we have the ability to overcome them,” she said. “María exemplified with her life, with an extraordinary sports career, in addition to being a pioneer woman and a woman who should serve as an inspiration from the point of view of human greatness,” she continued.
De Villota, who died on October 11, 2013, was a pioneer in Spanish motorsport. In 2011 she became the first Spaniard to drive a Formula 1 car and in 2012 she managed to break a 25-year period without female representation in the premier class, joining as a test driver.
Among her multiple recognitions, in 2008 she was named ambassador for Women’s Day for the Community of Madrid and in 2009 and 2010 she received the Silvestre of the Year Award and the Seven Star Award from the Community of Madrid, respectively.
Her commitment as an ambassador against gender-based violence continued when she accepted the position of ambassador for the Women’s Commission of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in June 2010.
After recovering from the serious accident suffered in 2012, she committed herself to various social causes, being the godmother of the Ana Carolina Díez Mahou Foundation, whose mission is based on improving the lives of children with neuromuscular and mitochondrial diseases, and with the San José, whose activity is part of the ‘María de Villota Legacy’.
Little by little, he resumed contact with the motor world, working for road safety and forming part of the FIA Drivers’ Commission. After his death, he was awarded the distinction of the Royal Order of Sports Merit posthumously.