I know I said no more pre-race posts after the British/Spanish GP but this is something I feel needs to be mentioned.
At yesterday's Hungarian GP quali, Felipe Massa from Ferrari was hit in the forehead by a broken damper from Ruben Barrichello's Brawn car, weighing about 100g , rendering him unconcious and ultimately driving himself into the saftey barrier at a speed of 170mph. Although 100g may seem light but have that coming at you at a speed of more than 100mph.
He was seen conscious when being extricated from the car and when being wheeled into the circuit's medical center. After some time, he was then air-lifted to a military hospital whereby he underwent brain surgery. The last news report I read mentioned he is now in a coma, stable but life-threatening. I don't exactly know what that means since I'm not a doctor. I do get the impression the coma was induced because some other report I read said he would be woken on Sunday but I can't verify the accuracy of that news source. All reports seem to agree he is in "stable but serious condition".
The video replay showed a black object coming up off the tarmac and hitting Felipe's helmet and then the driver proceeded to drive across a curb straight into the barrier. The front of the car was destroyed but the cockpit shell itself maintained which we can thank for saving Felipe from more damage. But piccies I saw of him shows his visor broken on the left hinge, a cut above his left eye. Apparently, the side of his helmet is completely dented in.
The whole thing was reminiscent of Ayrton Senna's crash at Imola although the circumstances in these 2 incidents are different. Felipe's accident also comes on the heels of another freak accident which happened last week and that caused the death of Henry Surtees, a promising young GP2 driver and son of former F1 pilot John Surtees. The late driver was hit by a tyre that broke off a car in front of him which rendered him unconscious causing him to crash into the barriers.
Felipe will, of course, not be in tomorrow's race. After such head trauma, I believe he will have to skip a few upcoming races in order to recuperate. I can't imagine what Felipe's family is going through right now since his dad and brother were in the Ferrari garage when it happened at the end of Q2. It must be extra distressing for his wife as she is currently pregnant with their first child. I can only offer my prayers and hope Felipe will make a full recovery.
At yesterday's Hungarian GP quali, Felipe Massa from Ferrari was hit in the forehead by a broken damper from Ruben Barrichello's Brawn car, weighing about 100g , rendering him unconcious and ultimately driving himself into the saftey barrier at a speed of 170mph. Although 100g may seem light but have that coming at you at a speed of more than 100mph.
He was seen conscious when being extricated from the car and when being wheeled into the circuit's medical center. After some time, he was then air-lifted to a military hospital whereby he underwent brain surgery. The last news report I read mentioned he is now in a coma, stable but life-threatening. I don't exactly know what that means since I'm not a doctor. I do get the impression the coma was induced because some other report I read said he would be woken on Sunday but I can't verify the accuracy of that news source. All reports seem to agree he is in "stable but serious condition".
The video replay showed a black object coming up off the tarmac and hitting Felipe's helmet and then the driver proceeded to drive across a curb straight into the barrier. The front of the car was destroyed but the cockpit shell itself maintained which we can thank for saving Felipe from more damage. But piccies I saw of him shows his visor broken on the left hinge, a cut above his left eye. Apparently, the side of his helmet is completely dented in.
The whole thing was reminiscent of Ayrton Senna's crash at Imola although the circumstances in these 2 incidents are different. Felipe's accident also comes on the heels of another freak accident which happened last week and that caused the death of Henry Surtees, a promising young GP2 driver and son of former F1 pilot John Surtees. The late driver was hit by a tyre that broke off a car in front of him which rendered him unconscious causing him to crash into the barriers.
Felipe will, of course, not be in tomorrow's race. After such head trauma, I believe he will have to skip a few upcoming races in order to recuperate. I can't imagine what Felipe's family is going through right now since his dad and brother were in the Ferrari garage when it happened at the end of Q2. It must be extra distressing for his wife as she is currently pregnant with their first child. I can only offer my prayers and hope Felipe will make a full recovery.
