Ferrari driver Felipe Massa remains in "life-threatening" but stable condition following surgery on multiple skull fractures.
The accident happened during Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying when a loose part from another car hit Massa in the helmet, causing him to veer into a tire-lined barrier at about 120 mph. The front of his car was shredded, with both tires gone and the front nose open. The 28-year-old Brazilian driver sustained a concussion but was conscious when airlifted to AEK military hospital, his team said.
"At the time he was admitted to hospital his condition was stable and he was breathing and blood circulation was normal. During the course of his examination they established that he suffered a serious, life-threatening injuries, including loss of consciousness and a fracture of the forehead on the left side and a fracture on the base of the skull." Massa underwent surgery about an hour after arriving at the hospital.
A spring that had fallen off Brawn GP driver and fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello's car flew up and struck Massa in the helmet. An apparently dazed Massa continued over a curb and across the track. He appeared to regain consciousness just before the crash at turn No. 4 because his front brakes seemed to lock ahead of the impact. The tire barrier he hit was on the outer edge or the gravel area along the circuit shoulder. The impact of the rear suspension part — a standard component that Brawn team principal Ross Brawn believed was made of steel — damaged the left side of Massa's helmet, ripping out the visor and leaving a long dent on its side. Blood was seen above Massa's left brow.
The crash comes less than a week after Henry Surtees, the son of former F1 champion John Surtees, died in an F2 race. Surtees was struck in the head by a tire from another car, causing him to lose consciousness and drive into a barrier. The accident was also reminiscent of Heikki Kovalainen's high-speed crash at last year's Spanish GP, when the McLaren driver sped into a wall. Kovalainen spent the night in a hospital with a concussion. No F1 driver has died on the track since three-time champion Ayrton Senna's crash at Imola 15 years ago.
Peter Bazso, the AEK hospital medical director, told reporters that Massa would be kept sedated until Monday, but will be woken up periodically during that time. Doctors were able to "remove the broken bones and stabilize the area," with procedures required to treat "an open skull fracture and a contusion". He did not speculate how long it would take Massa to recover, or whether there would be any long-term effects of the injury.
Governing body FIA was expected to launch an investigation into Massa's crash after several drivers and team principals called for safety measures to be re-examined.
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