German Car Forum

Massa remains stable following surgery

By Jonathan Noble
Sunday, July 26th 2009, 08:11 GMT

Felipe Massa remains in a stable condition in the AEK hospital in Budapest this morning, as doctors and Ferrari were left encouraged that there had been no further complications overnight.
Massa underwent successful surgery yesterday afternoon as a result of the skull fracture and brain concussion he suffered in a crash at Turn 4 during qualifying at the Hungaroring after he was hit on the head by a spring from Rubens Barrichello's car.
As is standard procedure for such operations, Massa was put into an induced coma and remained under observation in intensive care at the hospital.
A statement issued by Ferrari on Sunday morning said: "After undergoing an operation yesterday afternoon, Felipe Massa's condition remains stable and there were no further complications through the night.
"He will be given another CT scan today, which will provide more precise information."
Sources have told AUTOSPORT that the doctors at the hospital are 'optimistic' about Massa's recovery, but cannot say anything for definite until the brain scans have been performed.
Until those tests have been completed, it is also too early to judge how long Massa's recovery will take - or if he will be back in Formula 1 action this season.
Barrichello visited the AEK hospital in Budapest last night to find out news on his fellow Brazilian's condition, while Massa's father and other family members are flying out to Budapest to be with him, having not travelled to the race.
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone also visited to the hospital for an update on how Massa was, and afterwards expressed his shock at the events.
"We thought we'd got through these problems," said Ecclestone. "I've spoken to Sid Watkins [F1 safety expert] and he's looking into it."

SO, there's just gonna be 1 Ferrari racing today. I wonder if Ferrari would consider Schumi among Gene and Badoer for the remaining of the season

Ohhhh F1 getting very tasty!!

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungaroring, Hungary;
70 laps; 306.663km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos Driver Team Time
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1h38:23.876
2. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) + 11.529
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) + 16.886
4. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) + 26.967
5. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 34.392
6. Glock Toyota (B) + 35.237
7. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) + 55.088
8. Trulli Toyota (B) + 1:08.172
9. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) + 1:08.774
10. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) + 1:09.256
11. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 1:10.612
12. Piquet Renault (B) + 1:11.512
13. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) + 1:14.046
14. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) + 1 lap
15. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
16. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap

Fastest lap: Webber, 1:21.931

Not classified/retirements:

Driver Team On lap
Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 30
Alonso Renault (B) 16
Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 2
Massa Ferrari (B) 1

World Championship standings, round 10:

Drivers:
1. Button 70
2. Webber 51.5
3. Vettel 47
4. Barrichello 44
5. Rosberg 25.5
6. Trulli 22.5
7. Massa 22
8. Hamilton 19
9. Raikkonen 18
10. Glock 16
11. Alonso 13
12. Kovalainen 9
13. Heidfeld 6
14. Buemi 3
15. Bourdais 2
16. Kubica 2

Constructors:
1. Brawn-Mercedes 114
2. Red Bull-Renault 98.5
3. Ferrari 40
4. Toyota 38.5
5. McLaren-Mercedes 28
6. Williams-Toyota 25.5
7. Renault 13
8. BMW Sauber 8
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 5

there are reports that massa is in a lot worse condition then actually reported earlier.
but i guess that we can only hope and see
get well soon!

Astounding recovery by Mclaren. They have done an absolute fantastic job and a very important improvement for Witmarsh as this is his first season as a captain. Hamilton who was bemused by his chances of winning a race 1-2 months ago, is exhilarated to finally get a taste of his favourite exercise this year -- winning races.

The pit crew did an awful job today fumbling away some very valuable chances of scoring important points. This is the 3-4 time this season that Red Bull has wrecked Vettel's race. Both Red Bull and Brawn just saw their honey moon end. Ferrari and Mclaren are now in the mix at the front and will be a major disturbance for Button and Vettel -- ironically similar to how Vettel and Alonso stole points from Massa and Hamilton at the end of last years season.

For Red Bull, their dilemma of choosing which driver to back has now landed on their table. Vettel has now fallen behind Webber on the drivers' standing and after Valencia will have to promote either of them to nr.1 driver or else they'll risk walking away from the 2009 season empty handed. Hamilton's chances of winning this season are at most, slim but if Mclaren manage to sustain this pace and development then Hamilton can possibly finish 3rd this year -- but that's a long shot. Mclaren were more aiming at just winning one race this year for the sake of damage limitation.

Schumi would never seat himself inside a 2009 F1 car. Not only is the political side of the season a disgrace, but Ferrari behind in the championship and the F2009 still has some improvements to make before it can dominate the field. Further more, Schumi has several championships under his belt and has nothing more to prove. He's not coming back.

Like I predicted yesterday, Massa would not participate in the race today and I'm doubtful whether he will be returning to his job as a driver. Brain injuries have in most cases, long lasting effects and those include concentration problems, fatigue, slower reaction time and chronic migraine. Given the severity of the impact to his head, he'll unlikely walk away mentally undented. F1 is all concentration and endurance, not to mention heavy G-Forces which all put strain on the brain. I fear that we might have seen the last of Massa as an F1 driver. One of my friends suffered a intense concussion in a car accident when a moose appeared on the road and mashed through the A-pillars straight on to my friend's head. For the first 12 months after the accident he had to go to bed before 22:00 and did suffer from frequent headaches. But his recovery has been good.

This off course opens up a driver vacancy and given that three drivers -- Vettel, Alonso, Rosberg and Kubica -- are eager to abandon their teams, speculation will rumble throughout the next weeks of mid-term break.

Kudos to Mclaren and Hamilton for the perfect drive today. It's getting similiar now, with Ferrari vs Mclaren up front. It's a shame Massa didn't race today..i'm quite sure he would be in serious contention to win the race.

Also, i think Brawns are finally running out of steam now. They just don't have the resources like RedBull, Ferrari and Mclaren to raise their game. I see Vettel comin WDC this season.

^^
For the first time this season, I enjoyed a race and was optimistically hoping to see Alonso, Hamilton and Kimi on the podium i.e the return of the cahmpions But once again we saw the all to familiar Renault performance -- astound qualifying pace, shameful race performance Hamilton must have been hoping for a little dual between him and fellow champion, Alonso.

I'm curious as to how the season will progress from now with Mclaren and Brawn having swapped positions on the grid. It's astounding how far back Brawn have fallen given how invincible they were during the first 7 races of this season.

Yes, but u may never know. Fred might have been on the podium. i've never doubted that man.

Anyways, i never bought that 'our-Brawn-doesn't-function-well-at-cool-conditions' thing. I'm afraid Brawns dominance is just over. The next races are pretty warm, besides Spa. I just genuinely think they don't have the money, the budget like the big names to have continuos improvements on their cars.

However, i'm keeping my fingers crossed for both Ferrari and Mclaren. Hungary is a slow, twisty track, and the pendulum might just swing away from them again starting in Spa. Valencia is a street circuit, and i think Kimi might get his 1st win of the season there

Ferrari would never have won the race. He was feather light but Hamilton still managed to close in on him at light speed. After Alonso's race was lost, Hamilton was distancing himself from Kimi at a very fast rate until Mclaren told him to take is foot off the gas a bit. It was a pure Mclaren dominance challenged by a gamble from Renault by which the car was eating away the tires at a worrying rate.

Valencia is a typical Ferrari circuit; high temperatures and long straights. If Kimi can get a good qualifying position he'll be able to win there or else my money is on Button since the Brawn car has been very happy on exotic circuits.

In the interview, Kimi said there was exhaust problems, and he could not squeeze all the power available from the engine due to this problem.

Massa have been on a roll now, outperforming Kimi this past few races. Like i said, had he raced, i'm quite sure he could have won.

Great job for Hami and McLaren.

I don't think Massa will make it back this year. Maybe if he was fighting for the championship he would make it back, but I think he will just take the rest of the year off to recover 100%.

Renault suspended from European GP

Renault has been suspended from the European Grand Prix for the events that led to a wheel coming off Fernando Alonso's car in Hungary today.
Following a post-race discussion with the stewards, it was deemed that the team had breached the regulations enough for it to be suspended from the next event.

It means Alonso will miss his home event that takes place in Valencia next month, unless he moves to another team.
Alonso had been leading the race up until his stop, but his efforts came to nothing after his right front wheel was not fitted properly. It worked its way loose and flew off the car later that lap, ending up against the crash barriers.

A statement issued by the stewards on Sunday night said that there had been multiple breaches of the regulations by the Renault team.
Stewards talked to Renault representatives twice after the race.

The statement said that Renault "knowingly released car no. 7 from the pitstop position without one of the retaining devices for the wheel-nuts being securely in position, this being an indication that the wheel itself may not have been properly secured."

It added that Renault, "being aware of this, failed to take any action to prevent the car from leaving the pitlane....failed to inform the driver of this problem or to advise him to take appropriate action given the circumstances, even though the driver contacted the team by radio believing he had a puncture."

It said that the team's actions had compromised safety in breach of Article 3.2 of the Sporting Regulations, and in breach of Article 23.1.i had released the car from the pits before it was safe to do so.
Renault has been reminded of its right to appeal the decision.

No action taken on Raikkonen incident
Hungarian Grand Prix stewards have decided that no action was needed following the investigation of an incident involving Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen at the start of the race.

Raikkonen was under investigation over his driving at the first corner after making contact with Red Bull rival Sebastian Vettel.
The Finn, who finished in second place, escaped a penalty, however, as the stewards deemed it was just a racing incident.

Meanwhile, the Red Bull Racing team got a reprimand for the unsafe release of Mark Webber during a pitstop, when he came close to making contact with Raikkonen.

Renault appeals stewards' decision

Renault has confirmed that it will appeal the FIA's decision to ban the team from the European Grand Prix for the events that led to a wheel coming off Fernando Alonso's car in Hungary.

The team lodged its paperwork and a deposit for the 6000 Euros fee for the appeal, with a hearing now likely take place in the summer break before the European GP on August 23.

The paperwork, lodged in conjunction with the French motorsport federation, was signed by Renault's team manager Steve Nielsen and was received by the FIA's stewards' chairman Alan Donnelly shortly before 7pm.