Massa to return home on Monday

Injured Formula One driver Felipe Massa is doing "very well" and will be flown back to Brazil on Monday according to his personal physician.

"Felipe continues to improve. He is doing very well and we already decided to go back home (Brazil) on Monday," physician Dino Altmann said in front of Budapest's AEK military hospital.

"I think this decision says all you need to know (about his condition)," he added.

Altmann said Massa, last year's championship runner-up, needs rest and the plan is that he will return to Formula One but no timetable has yet been set.

Massa, 28, fractured his skull in an accident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

He spent several days in an induced coma and on a respirator but was released from an intensive care unit at the Budapest hospital on Wednesday.

Via: Yahoo! Sport

Massa walks, 'looks like boxer'

Injured Formula One driver Felipe Massa is up and about and expected to make a full recovery but will remain in a Budapest hospital for now, his personal physician said.

"He looks like a boxer but he's eating well, walking about, taking showers," state news agency MTI quoted Dino Altmann as saying.

Massa, 28, fractured his skull in an accident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix when he was hit just above his left eye by a bouncing spring, weighing almost a kilo, that broke free from fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car.

He spent several days in an induced coma and on a respirator but was released from the intensive care unit on Wednesday.

Altmann added that Massa has even been able to joke around and when he heard that seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher would come out of retirement to take his spot at Ferrari, he said: "Let's see if I let him."

Altmann said that Massa, last year's championship runner-up, would stay in the Hungarian hospital for now and would eventually be flown straight home.

Via: Yahoo! Sport

Massa to leave intensive care

Ferrari's Felipe Massa is to leave intensive care after taking his first steps since he fractured his skull in a crash at last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The champions said the Brazilian's condition was improving steadily in Budapest's AEK military hospital.

"The driver has had more exams carried out, confirming his continuing improvement," the team said. "Felipe speaks, can sit upright and was even able to take his first steps. Today he will leave intensive care."

Massa underwent emergency surgery on Saturday after being flown to the hospital in what doctors said was a life-threatening condition.

The 28-year-old was hit on the helmet during qualifying by a metal spring, the size of a Coke can and weighing almost a kilo, which fell off compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car and bounced down the track.

"From the clinical and radiological point of view everything is going extremely well," said Ferrari.

"Felipe will stay at the AEK hospital for the next few days, until he can be taken somewhere else."

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, who went to Massa's bedside on Monday when the Brazilian was under sedation, was flying back to Budapest to greet him.

Via: Yahoo! Sport

Massa could leave hospital in 10 days

Injured Formula One driver Felipe Massa is recovering well and could walk out of a Budapest hospital within 10 days, according to his doctor.

"My expectation is that he would walk out of the hospital on his own," Peter Bazso, the medical director of the AEK hospital, told public television M1.

"If his recovery continues at this pace, I wouldn't rule out that he could leave within 10 days."

The Ferrari driver's condition remained serious, however, Bazso said.

"I would like to point out that although he's recovering, this is not the end of the story; he is still in a life-threatening condition. Of course, the danger is decreasing by the day."

Dino Altmann, Massa's personal physician said the Brazilian was alert and his eyesight, a chief concern, was fine.

"Today Felipe is improving continuously, he is more alert than he was before," Altmann said.

"He's answering in three different languages in proper answers and he knows exactly what's right and left...his left eye has no problem, his eyesight is okay."

Massa, last year's World Championship runner-up, fractured his skull in an accident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix when he was hit just above his left eye by a bouncing spring, weighing almost a kilo, which broke free from compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car.

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali, who visited the hospital on Tuesday, declined to discuss who could replace Massa and said the team awaited his return.

"We said that we were waiting for him as soon as he will be back and that's his car," Domenicali said.

Doctors brought Massa, 28, out of an artificial coma on Monday and took him off a respirator.

Bazso said it was too early to predict whether Massa had suffered any lasting damage.

Via: Yahoo! Sport

Massa off respirator and out of coma

Injured Formula One driver Felipe Massa has been brought out of an artificial coma, was taken off a respirator and has been able to communicate with his doctors and family representatives.

"His condition has improved significantly over the past 24 hours and he remains stable," Lajos Zsiros, the chief surgeon of Hungary's defense forces said. "We have ended sedation and took him off the respirator.

"He's sleepy but has been able to reply to questions and has been able to move his limbs adequately."

Brazilian Massa fractured his skull in an accident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday when he was hit just above his left eye by a bouncing spring, weighing almost a kilo, that broke free from compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car.

Doctors said Massa, last year's championship runner-up, may have also suffered an eye injury but could not yet tell the extent of any possible damage.

Dino Altmann, Massa's personal physician, said the Brazilian's s condition was reassuring.

"He's awake, he has been answering questions, he has been asking what has happened to him," Altmann said.

Altmann said the Massa family is happy with the care the injured driver was receiving at the military hospital AEK and moving him was not currently on the agenda.

Robert Veres, the surgeon who operated on Massa, said earlier on Monday that it was too early to tell how quickly Massa could recover but he was likely to miss the rest of the season.

Zsiros also declined to predict Massa's recovery but said that in theory, a man could fully recover after such an accident.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, who flew to Budapest on Monday to visit Massa, said his main concern for the time being was Massa's recovery and the team would consider his possible replacement later.

"For us, the first priority is to find out Felipe's recovery progress and situation," di Montezemolo told a joint news conference with Massa's doctors. "Felipe is a very important member of the Ferrari family not just the Ferrari team.

"First priority now is to find out the situation with Felipe and then we will see and we will think, without pressure. Only at that moment will we make a decision and if we have to take a decision we will make a good decision," di Montezemolo said.

Via: Yahoo! Sport

Massa 'suffered eye damage' in accident

Seriously injured Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa has suffered eye damage, according to the doctor who operated on the Brazilian.

The Ferrari driver suffered skull and eye injuries when he was hit on the head by a spring that broke loose from compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday.

Asked whether Massa's eye suffered damage in the accident, neurosurgeon Professor Robert Veres said: "I am sure but we do not know the extent (of the damage) yet."

Earlier a Hungarian defense ministry spokesman revealed that Massa was now able to communicate with movements when woken up.

"Massa is now woken up increasingly often and is capable of active communication, giving feedback by moving his legs and hands. This is certainly a good sign," Istvan Bocskai said on state television channel m1.

The 28-year-old - winner of 11 grands prix and the world championship runner-up in 2008 - was hit by debris in his helmet just above his left eye at around 275 kph.

Massa was airlifted to a hospital run by the defence ministry and immediately underwent surgery for skull damage.

The Ferrari driver has been kept in an induced coma since then to help his body to get through the post-operative phase of 48 hours but was woken up from time to time to get information on his condition.

Bocskai said a slow recovery was about to start although "this is not the phase yet when this can be stated as a certainity".

A test to determine if water had accumulated in his bowels was negative, Bocskai said, adding the results were "reassuring".

On Sunday, Massa underwent a computed tomography (CT) scan to determine if cerebral damage had occurred.

Asked whether the driver suffered brain injuries, Bocskai said: "The doctors did not observe any signs from the CT to confirm (an injury) but it is still early to say anything."

Massa is to undergo another brain scan and an update on his condition will be issued later, ministry spokeswoman Andrea Nagy said.

Massa has been with Ferrari since 2006 and was pipped by just one point by Lewis Hamilton in the 2008 title race. He is currently seventh this season with 22 points.

Via: Yahoo! Sport

Massa Kept In Coma After 170mph F1 Accident

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

Massa in intensive care after surgery

Ferrari's Felipe Massa was put in intensive care after being hit on the head by bouncing debris and crashing heavily in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying.

Ferrari, the Formula One champions, said that the Brazilian had emergency surgery at Budapest's AEK hospital which went well. A further update would be issued on Sunday.

Massa suffered a cut forehead, skull damage and concussion in the accident caused by a fist-sized spring weighing around 800 grams falling off compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn seconds earlier.

The accident, which rules Massa out of Sunday's race at the Hungaroring, brought back grim memories of the crash that killed compatriot and triple champion Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994.

It also followed the death last Sunday of Briton Henry Surtees, 18-year-old son of Ferrari's 1964 Formula One champion John, who was killed by a loose wheel hitting him on the head in a race at Brands Hatch.

Massa's red car, leaving streaking brake marks across the asphalt, ploughed straight on at turn four and into the tyre wall.

The Brazilian, who appeared to have been knocked unconscious before the car left the track, was extracted and taken by ambulance to the circuit medical centre and then by helicopter to hospital.

Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport website showed a photograph of the driver with his visor half ripped off and a bloody gash over his closed left eye.

A shaken Barrichello went to see his compatriot at the medical centre.

"I wanted to see him myself because I've been in situations like that," he said.

"We are Brazilians and sometimes we have a family, sometimes we don't, and when we wake up all we want to see is someone we know. I wanted to be there in case there was not anybody from the family there.

"But he was conscious, he was moving and he was very agitated with the fact that he had a cut on his head. With that, they sedated him for him to calm down, and then they moved him to hospital."

Barrichello, who had a big crash himself at the tragic Imola weekend that claimed the lives of Senna and Austrian Roland Ratzenberger, said what had happened to Massa and Surtees was a wake-up call.

"I honestly don't believe in coincidence in life. Things happen for a reason and I think this is the second message," he said.

"Imola was a message. The cars were improved. Unfortunately we lost a boy, which is tremendously sad. It is not a coincidence that something happened right now.

"In the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers' Association) we talked quite a lot about it yesterday and something needs to be done," said the 37-year-old.

Senna died at the San Marino Grand Prix after his Williams careered off the track and into a concrete wall, the driver suffering a fatal head injury.

McLaren's world champion Lewis Hamilton agreed with Barrichello. "I believe things happen for a reason, and for two incidents to happen in such a short period of time, we can't ignore it," the Briton said.

"We've got to make sure we learn from it, and improve if we can," he added.

Via: Yahoo! Sport