Formula One driver Felipe Massa remains in a life-threatening but stable condition after a crash and will be kept in an induced coma for the next 48 hours, a doctor has said.
The Brazilian will be woken up "from time to time" over the next two days, said Peter Bazso, medical director at the AEK military hospital in Budapest, Hungary.
He added that Massa did not sustain any neurological damage and the results of emergency surgery and a brain scan were "reassuring".
Asked whether the driver's life remained in danger, the doctor said: "Yes, he is in a life-threatening condition.
"He is in an acute phase. What can come next, we don't know."
Massa slammed his Ferrari into tyre barriers at around 120mph during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
He was hit on the head while travelling at around 170mph by a spring that came out of a Brawn GP car being driven by Rubens Barrichello.
Video from Massa's cockpit showed him ploughing straight over a corner and into the tyre barrier, indicating the blow may have knocked him unconscious.
The 28-year-old's parents and pregnant wife have flown into Hungary from Brazil to be at his side.
Dcotors woke Massa temporarily to check on his condition and so he could see his family.
In a message to all Brazilians, Anna Rafaela Massa, who is expecting the couple's first child later this year, said: "I ask you all, no matter from which faith, to pray for him."
The driver's father Luiz Antonio Massa said it would be too hard for the family to stay at home and wait for news over the phone.
The accident at the Hungaroring led to renewed safety concerns and brought back memories of the crash which killed Massa's fellow Brazilian Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994.
"Things happen for a reason and I think this is the second message. Imola was a message," said Barrichello.
Massa's accident was the second crash in motor sport in less than a week where debris from the track struck a driver's helmet.
F2 driver Henry Surtees, the son of ex-Formula One world champion John Surtees, died last Sunday after being hit by a flying tyre from another car at Brands Hatch.
The 18-year-old's death prompted F1 drivers to discuss the issue of debris and head safety during their usual pre-race meeting on Friday, Barrichello said.
Brawn GP team boss Ross Brawn added: "From what's been seen last weekend and this weekend we need to have a proper study.
"There's a need to do something."
Motor sport's governing body the FIA has launched a full investigation into the causes of the accident.
Via: Yahoo! News
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