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SPOILER ALERT - Hungarian Qualifying

Wow.

I sure hope Massa is okay. I'm watching it on DVR and OUCH!

Hit in the head with a spring? I wouldn't be surprised if he can't race tomorrow. That could take a while to recover from.

I thinks it's pretty clear he went unconscious before the crash.

Ferrari said he will not race. He is undergoing surgery to remove small particles from the wound above his eye right now.

Ian

Incredible. The slow motion video from the car is uncanny. What are the odds for something like that to happen? Hope is recovers swiftly.

I read reports that his helmet was damaged and the entire visor was torn off when the spring hit him. He apparently has a cut on his forehead, bruising around his eye, bone damage to his skull, a concussion. I also read about surgery, as Ian said, and that they were going to keep him in intensive care.

In my opinion he was extremely unlucky that the spring hit him, but extremely fortunate that it didn't hit him full in the visor. My wife and I were saying that it was amazing that he managed to gain consciousness enough to hit the brakes before hitting the tires. That could have been much worse if he'd hit those going any faster.

Hope he recovers fairly quickly and isn't too phased by the incident.

Get well soon Felipe.

I didn't see it yet, my sister tells me it was serious.
Il'' be watching the news tonight.

Its on YouTube if you're fast.

It was amazing. I wonder if he will keep that helmet as a souvenir.

Massa undergoes surgery in intensive care
25 July 2009

Felipe Massa has been operated on in a Budapest hospital and remains in intensive care this evening. As reported earlier, the Brazilian driver suffered from concussion and a damaged skull in Hungary after striking a spring weighing 800 grams which had come loose from Rubens Barrichello's car.

With the section of track on which Massa was traveling seeing usual speeds of approximately 170 miles per hour, Massa was airlifted to hospital having been extracted from the car and taken to the Hungaroring's medical centre.

The latest Ferrari press release reads:

'Felipe Massa has undergone surgery this afternoon at the AEK hospital in Budapest and the outcome of the procedure was positive. Now, Felipe will remain under observation in intensive care. An update on his condition will be issued late tomorrow morning.'

GPUpdate.net has learned that Massa has suffered from bleeding in the brain as a result of the cracked skull and could miss the remainder of the season as a consequence.

Quote:

Massa suffers skull damage, concussion

By Pablo Elizalde Saturday, July 25th 2009, 15:55 GMT

Felipe Massa will need to undergo surgery after it emerged he has suffered bone damage of his skull and a brain concussion in his accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Brazilian will be forced to miss the race after he was hit in the head by debris believed to belong to Rubens Barrichello's car.

Massa was airlifted to a Budapest hospital, where he remains in stable condition.

Ferrari said in a statement that Massa will need to undergo surgery and will have to stay under observation in intensive care for an undisclosed period of time.

"After the accident during the qualifying session of the Grand Prix of Hungary, Felipe Massa was airlifted to the AEK hospital in Budapest," the statement said. "Felipe was conscious at the arrival at the hospital and his general conditions remain stable.

"Following a complete medical examination it emerged that he had suffered a cut on his forehead, a bone damage of his skull and a brain concussion. These conditions need to be operated on after which he will remain under observation in intensive care."

The team said further information will be released later tonight.

Now, I'm no Ferrari fan, but I don't want anyone to get hurt. Massa is a good guy, despite who he works for. I hope he recovers.

Just because he was conscious when he was put on the ambulance doesn't mean everything is fine. It can take minutes to hours for the brain to start swelling dangerously after an accident. Once again, I hope this isn't the case for him.

***

On the lighter side, I was a little amused when timing and scoring went down. I did notice that Alonso went from driver to driver and figured out who should be where. This was a good thing IMO, because it prevented the FIA from monkeying with the results.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BOOMER (Post 4798121)

None of that sounds very good. I hope he gets to live a normal life at the least and gets to drive again. Thankfully, the part didn't strike mostly the visor, or he might have lost his life over this detached part.

How is it possible to detach a spring from RB's car at speed (not having seen any other part of qualy)?

Quote:

Originally Posted by artplumber (Post 4798328)

How is it possible to detach a spring from RB's car at speed (not having seen any other part of qualy)?

I remember some engineer in F1 saying: "If a part doesn't fail occasionally, it's probably too heavy."

I'm guessing whatever bracket held the spring (probably carbon fiber) failed. It could be a one-off mistake, or a design flaw. It's even more freakish that Massa's car picked it up. I suspect that Button's car is being gone over with a fine-toothed comb right now as a second such failure will probably get both Brawn cars sidelined.

Quote:

Originally Posted by legion (Post 4798278)

Just because he was put in the amulance does not mean anything. For you old racing fans, just remember Mark Donohue, 1975, hit a fence post at this same event, went back to the pits, and died the next day from head injuries. Prayers to Massa.

This is looking worse:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090725/ap_on_sp_au_ra_ne/car_f1_massa_crash

Quote:

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Ferrari driver Felipe Massa underwent surgery on life-threatening skull injuries Saturday from a high-speed crash during Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying. He was in stable condition in the intensive care unit of a military hospital.

The accident happened 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 also sustained a concussion but was conscious when airlifted to AEK 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," the Hungarian defense department said in a statement.

"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. Hospital doctors subsequently said his condition was "serious, life threatening but stable" at a news conference, but ultimately ruled the Formula One driver was in "stable, satisfactory condition."

A spring that had fallen off 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 went through the gravel area along the circuit before slamming into the tire barrier.

The impact of the rear suspension part — a standard component that Brawn GP 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.

Barrichello, a fellow Brazilian, went to the medical center to check on Massa. He said Massa appeared to be doing fine despite the cut above his left eye.

"He was in shock," Barrichello told The Associated Press. "Considering the gravity of the accident, I think he's in OK shape."

Massa appeared to regain consciousness just before the crash at turn No. 4 because his front brakes seemed to lock ahead of the violent impact.

He remained in the car awhile and was assisted out before being taken to the medical center. He was then taken to the helicopter on a stretcher, wearing a neck brace.

The crash came less than a week after Henry Surtees, the son of former F1 champion John Surtees, died in an F2 race last Sunday. Surtees was struck in the head by a tire from another car, causing him to lose consciousness and drive into a barrier.

"It is not a coincidence that something happened right now," Barrichello told reporters. "Something needs to be done. Yes, absolutely."

No F1 driver has died on the track since three-time champion Ayrton Senna's crash at Imola 15 years ago.

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.

"What happened to me in Barcelona was a very nasty accident. But I think it was a pretty freak accident and I don't know how to prevent that," Kovalainen said. "It was very unfortunate. But I think we should discuss it."

Surtees' death prompted drivers to discuss at length the issue of debris and head safety during their usual pre-race meeting Friday.

Renault's Fernando Alonso won the pole position for Sunday's race after qualifying was delayed for nearly 30 minutes because of Massa's accident.

Wow 800 grams is 1.75 lbs. It is amazing he was able to slow down at all. He is lucky to be alive and under full medical care. Good luck Mr. Masa

Better news . . .

"Felipe Massa has been operated on this evening and is now in an induced coma in the AEK Hospital in Budapest.

An inaccurate report from AP this evening suggested that his condition was life threatening but this is not the case. The operation was successful and he is likely to be woken tomorrow.

Medical estimates of how long he will be out of action vary from two months, to longer. It has been suggested by one doctor here that he may miss the rest of the season. More will be known when the medically induced coma ends and the medics can assess the amount of bruising to the front of the brain.

The 28 year old was hit in the head by a spring which had fallen from the rear suspension of Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn car. He was on a lap heading back to the pits and was four seconds behind Barrichello on the road, when the spring became detached. It bounced down the road for four seconds and hit Massa in the head. He was briefly knocked unconscious and his feet went onto the brake and throttle simultaneously.

The data says that he applied 60bar of pressure to the brake, which is the equivalent of laying his foot on it gently, while the throttle was effectively jammed on."

from JA.F1

Ian