Felipe Massa’s condition stable but still in ICU

July 28, 2009

Felipe Massa’s condition stable but still in ICU

Felipe Massa’s condition stable but still in ICU Brazilian Felipe Massa is said to be showing improvements post the surgery to fix his multiple skull injuries which the Ferrari driver suffered on Saturday during the qualifying. He has started passive communication with the hospital doctors and his medical scans are also showing positive signs of recovery. He was operated in the defense hospital and the spokesman Istvan Bocskai told press that although he was not speaking but was responding to doctors by moving his hands and feet.

Massa suffered a life threatening concussion when loose shrapnel hit his helmet and he lost control of his car and hit the tyre wall at the speed of 190 kilometers per hour. He was air lifted in the medical helicopter and was taken to the AEK hospital where he was operated within an hour. As of now he is in the intensive care unit of the hospital.

The weekend at Hungaroring circuit was quite a serious blow on F1’s governing body’s efforts to increase driver safety. First it was Massa’s crash and then during the race, Renault driver and former world champion Fernando Alonso lost his wheel during the race. Fernando Alonso has been banned for the next race post this incident. Renault team should have informed Alonso about his wheel problem and thus could have avoided such an incident, but they failed to communicate at the rite time.

These two accidents remind all of us about the tragedy that happened 15 years ago when Ayrton Senna died in a crash at Imola. Senna was the three times World Formula 1 Champion but lost his life due to head injuries suffered in that violent crash.

Fellow Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo visited the hospital to check on the status of Massa’s health. Also present at the hospital was Massa’s pregnant wife Anna Rafaela.