Maria De Villota, a test driver for the Banbury-based Marussia team, has been taken to hospital with "life-threatening injuries" after suffering an accident in Cambridgeshire this morning.

The 32-year-old Spaniard was taking part in her first test for the Formula One team at Duxford Airfield when she crashed into a support truck after completing her opening installation lap.

After treatment by trackside paramedics, De Villota was taken to the local Addenbrooke's Hospital, where a spokesman later confirmed she was being attended to in the accident and emergency department.

In a statement, ambulance service spokesman Gary Sanderson said: "A woman has sustained life-threatening injuries and, following treatment at the scene by paramedics, she has been taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital for further care."