BUDAPEST, Hungary – Felipe Massa was in stable condition following emergency surgery on a life-threatening skull injury he sustained in a crash during Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.
The Brazilian driver was being kept in intensive care overnight at AEK military hospital.
A loose car part hit Massa in the helmet, causing him to veer straight into a tire barrier at about 190 kph (120 mph).
“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 translated 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 around 4:20 p.m. local time, about an hour after being airlifted to the hospital. His Ferrari team said the surgery was positive.
Hospital doctors subsequently said Massa’s condition was “serious, life threatening but stable” at a press conference, but ultimately ruled the 28-year-old was in “stable, satisfactory condition.”
Massa also suffered a concussion, but was conscious when he was airlifted to the hospital, Ferrari said.
A spring that had fallen off Rubens Barrichello’s Formula One car flew up and struck Massa in the helmet during qualifying. An apparently dazed Massa continued straight through a curb, across the track and through the gravel area alongside the circuit before slamming into the tire barrier.
The impact of the rear suspension part – a standard component which 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. The front of his Ferrari was shredded, with both tires gone and the front nose open.
Barrichello, a fellow Brazilian, went to the medical center to check on Massa and said the Ferrari driver 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 as his front brakes seemed to lock ahead of the violent impact.
He remained in the car for a considerable time and was assisted out before being taken to the medical center. (AP)