A police spokeswoman said: "We are assuming it was a natural death, but we cannot confirm anything."
Spaniard De Villota, 33, lost her right eye in a crash last July while testing for the Marussia team.
She suffered severe head and facial injuries after colliding with a lorry at Duxford Aerodrome, Cambridgeshire, but had been cleared to resume driving.
A statement from her family said: "Dear
friends: Maria is gone. She had to go to heaven with all of the angels.
Give thanks to God for the year-and-a-half we had left together."
De Villota, daughter of ex-Formula 1 driver Emilio, was
reported to have been in the southern Spanish city to launch her
autobiography.
The police spokeswoman said forensic scientists and officers from the homicide unit would examine the scene at the Seville hotel.
F1 teams and drivers have been expressing their shock at the news of her death. "It's horrendous news. Very tragic, the girl has been through so much, more than most people go through in their lives. It has been tough for her but this is horrific news and a real shock to the whole paddock and the world of motorsport.
"We saw her this year in Barcelona. We were doing some work for a children's charity and she was the first one to put her hand up to do it, and got a lot of other drivers involved - she was doing a lot for the community.
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