Maria De Villota: profile - Telegraph De Villota, daughter of former F1 driver Emilio de Villota who started two grands prix in 1977, was appointed test driver of Russian-licensed Marussia on the 7 March this year which made her the only female driver in such a role at the time as Williams have since handed a similar development role to Suzie Wolff. Prior to this the 32-year-old Spaniard raced in a number of different series, including Formula Three and the Daytona 24 hour race, before trialling a Renault F1 car in August last year. 2009 Formula Palmer Audi 2009 Trofeo Abarth Europe 2008 Euroseries 3000 2008 Italian Superstars 2007 ADAC Procar - Division I 2007 Spanish GT Championship 2005-06 Ferrari Challenge Europe 2001-05 Spanish F3 Later that month, Renault confirmed she had made her F1 test debut in the R29 at the Paul Ricard circuit and that they were in talks with her management to sign her as a test driver. Now with Marussia, De Villota is a test driver and not the reserve driver as she lacks the necessary super-licence for the role. Marussia began life in F1 under the Virgin banner before rebranding in 2012, with Charles Pic driving alongside Timo Glock.