Massa’s condition improving
Injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa’s condition is said to be improving, according to a Hungarian government official. Massa remains stable in a Budapest hospital following his high-speed crash at the Hungaroring on Saturday, in which his helmet was struck by a loose spring from the car of fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello.
Massa underwent emergency surgery for a fractured skull on Saturday evening before being placed in an artificially induced coma to aid his recovery. He was awoken briefly for a CT scan on Sunday morning, the signs of which were positive, before resting peacefully again overnight.
On Monday a Hungarian Defence Ministry spokesman reported that Massa is now able to communicate ‘actively’ and can move his hands and legs, suggesting that he has not suffered significant brain damage. He is also understood to have suffered injury to his left eye, the extent of which cannot yet be confirmed.
"He's woken up (from sedation) more and more often now and he's able to communicate actively, that is, he reacts when he's talked to,” Istvan Bocskai told Hungarian television. “We are optimistic - in our hope a slow recovery is beginning."
Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo visited Massa in the AEK Hospital on Monday, after dedicating the team’s second-place finish in Sunday’s Hungarian race to his absent driver.
In addition to members of his family, who flew into Budapest on Sunday, Massa has also had visits from Barrichello, Bernie Ecclestone and several members of the Ferrari team, including team principal Stefano Domenicali.
