REPORTS: Massa recovering but may never race again, Renault suspended for safety infraction [UPDATE]
In a development mirroring countless racing movies, Felipe Massa's doctors say that the injured driver is showing progress in his recovery, but that he may never race again. The Brazilian pilot, who narrowly missed winning the title last year, was knocked unconscious on Saturday by a loose component off the car of fellow countryman Rubens Barrichello – who coincidentally used to hold Massa's seat at Ferrari – and taken to the hospital in Budapest. Although Massa's injuries are no longer considered life-threatening and he was reportedly able to move limbs according to doctors' instructions, severe damage to his left eye could spell the end of his career.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo visited Massa at the hospital together with team principal Stefano Domenicali, who will stay with Massa's family – including his pregnant wife – another day while doctors determine how much longer he should stay at the Hungarian military facility before being moved closer to home. While Felipe's projected recovery time remains unclear at this point, it looks like he will be out for at least the rest of the season, meaning that the Scuderia will need to find someone suitable to fill his seat. The last time Ferrari had to temporarily replace an injured driver was ten years ago when Michael Schumacher broke his leg at Silverstone. The team then elected to bring in Mika Salo, who supported team-mate Eddie Irvine in securing the constructors' championship for the team, rather than promoting one of its veteran test drivers.
Massa's injuries follow hot on the heels of the Henry Surtees incident that saw the son of former world champion John Surtees killed in a Formula 2 race a week ago, throwing the FIA into action to prevent further incidents. The Renault team was handed a one-race suspension as a penalty for a stray wheel that broke loose from Fernando Alonso's F1 car on Sunday and bounced dangerously down the track on the thirteenth lap of this past weekend's race. The FIA ruled that the team should have alerted its driver to the improperly secured wheel nut, and will subsequently have to sit out the upcoming European Grand Prix at Valencia, considered a home race for the penalized two-time world champion.
UPDATE: We've added a gallery of images taken during and after the incident, though should warn you that the gallery includes a shot of Massa after the accident occurred. It is not for the faint of heart, so don't look if you can't stomach seeing injuries well.
Gallery: Felipe Massa crash at Hungarian GP
[Sources: Boston Globe and New York Times | Image: MAURICIO LIMA/AFP/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Alex 2:06PM (7/27/2009)
I am relieved to hear that his injuries are no longer life-threatening. I am deeply saddened to hear that he may never race again.
Reply
Noidor 3:09PM (7/27/2009)
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77383
full recovery is possible.
Nateb123 7:39PM (7/27/2009)
As the article Noidor posted said, Massa clearly (as per the picture in the gallery) has a serious shiner on his left eye from the impact. Therefore his vision can't be examined until the swelling goes down. This claim of eye damage is strange to me and I actually wonder if the doctor said "We still don't know if there is eye damage, we can't know yet". Then the media just went "His eye might be destroyed! Hype! Push the story!" The fact of the matter is his skull fractured, his brain didn't swell (though he did have a concussion) and so it seems his plight is simply a major crack to the head. Eyeball issues and brain damage all seem like media reaching for a story to me at this point.
why not the LS2LS7? 8:01PM (7/27/2009)
Nateb123:
If his eyeball was crushed by the spring or the fragments of the skull, then yeah, it'd be possible to make some sort of prognosis about his vision right now.
You seem terribly optimistic, I hope you're right, but I don't see any evidence to back such optimism.
the4thheat 12:09AM (7/28/2009)
It's not even about his eye...even if it's not damaged a "full recovery" after a brain injury is more that you'll recover to an acceptable and normal level of function. As I commented in the original post brain injuries often mean you've literally lost the neurons that made you who you are, in his case a great driver. Brain cells can't grow back so basically existing mature brain cells that do other stuff in his brain now would have to sub in for whatever died, and it's a slow, slow, process that likely means you'll never be quite as good as you used to be.
Of course this all depends on which parts of his brain got the most damage, but from the way it sounded I wouldn't get my hopes up too high.
He might still be a great driver, and probably still better than most of us if he recovers, but he might just not be quite as good as you probably have to be to constantly win.
the4thheat 12:15AM (7/28/2009)
I highly doubt that it was only a concussion...news reports probably lump a whole bunch of stuff into "concussion" but the fact that they put him into a coma would suggest that it was more serious than that and that he probably did have brain swelling (although of course everything is in degrees since a papercut is a "cut" but it's different than being cut by a machete).
yournamehere6785 2:08PM (7/27/2009)
I understand trying to keep things safe...but...your a freakin' race car driver! If your in that line of work you are well aware of the dangers and risks involved. There are thousands of tragic racing accidents. If you dont like it, then get a job doing something else.
Reply
paul34 2:16PM (7/27/2009)
Well, sure, but that ultimately doesn't make sense. Even aside from the human factor, losing a driver can mean a huge financial hit for the sponsoring companies, and possibly spell the end of the team itself. From a business perspective, it's about protecting your most important assets. From a human perspective, it's about reducing the amount of unnecessary risk. They're not talking about speed limits or whatnot, they're talking about things like car parts flying around during a race, which really shouldn't happen; although if it is going to happen, it's going to happen in a balls-to-the-wall race like this where humans and machines are pushed to their maximum limits and sometimes beyond.
I don't' know if more regulation would prevent something like this... and the conspiracy theorists will never believe this was an accident (maybe it wasn't, I don't know).
Adam 2:19PM (7/27/2009)
@Paul34
How exactly could this have been intentional on the part of anyone?
Alex 2:29PM (7/27/2009)
That is just dumb logic. That's like saying "well, you are a carpenter; getting shot with a nailgun is just a hazard of the job!" No, getting shot with a nailgun is not just part of the risks of the job. It means someone was careless/improperly trained. If i wheel is loose because the nut was not torqued to the proper specification and then you proceed to allow the car to run with full knowledge that it poses a very serious safety risk, you are no longer just careless you are negligent and fully liable.
There are risks to being a race driver, but that doesn't excuse ignoring standard safety protocols.
JSams4131 3:30PM (7/27/2009)
@yournamewhatever
Who exactly are your ranting at? The fact that this is a freak accident doesn't make sense to you? It's not like Massa went aiming for the airborne spring. thanks for stating the obvious but obviously this is no one person's fault...let alone the victim -_-
Here is to Felipe Massa on a speedy FULL recovery...you still gotta get that championship mate.
yournamehere6785 3:49PM (7/27/2009)
im not saying its anyone's fault. its obviously a freak accident. im annoyed at the FIA really. these are things you cant control. They are going to happen. Driving a race car is not a safe thing to do. Period. these things will always happen regardless of how many restrictions and rules you put on the cars.
I was watching the broadcast when this happened and all the announcers were stunned. they had never seen something like that happen before.
Franz 2:15PM (7/27/2009)
This was such a freakish accident, but I'm very relieved that it looks like Felipe will pull through. I do hope he'll be able to race again though. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Reply
Venom 2:17PM (7/27/2009)
This brings back bad memories of Ayrton Senna and Alex Zanardi.
Reply
format guy 2:19PM (7/27/2009)
I think this is so tragic - it's really just very sad.
I also think Alonso will now take Massa's place at Ferrari given the ban on Renault and the fact that the season is almost over (and Alonso was going there anyway). There's a 4 week break for the lawyers to work it out...
Reply
Throwback 2:53PM (7/27/2009)
Why not bring back Micheal? The car is definitely more competitive and he certainly looks fit.
ronEbear 2:21PM (7/27/2009)
This brings me back memories of last week when that 18 year old kid dies in a similar fashion, the lack of a roof. But cluck these guys in their bass holes right? They know what danger is coming to them right?
Reply
Kitko 2:38PM (7/27/2009)
here's the 3D animation of the impact
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHZybt3eOAI
it says it all
Reply
Ken 2:39PM (7/27/2009)
When I was watching the qualifications, I knew something was not right. And it brought back memories of when Senna crashed at Imola.
I knew something was wrong with him because the corner workers when up and did nothing to help him out of the car.
Then the feed went up to the Helicopter shooting down on the scene just like Senna's accident.
I too am glad he was not killed. But they way the images were coming across the screen was just like May 1 1994.
Reply
Zanardi1782 3:54PM (7/27/2009)
Yeah, I had the same thoughts, especially since the accidents looked so similar at first glance (driver keeps going straight instead of taking the turn, and goes right into the wall).
To make matters even more eerie, Senna's accident at Imola was preceded by Ratzenberger's accident earlier that race week-end, much like Massa's was preceded by Surtees'.
I sure hope Massa makes a full recovery.