David Lock

I am sorry to say that I saw a similar incident when Tom Pryce, the Welsh driver, was killed during the South African Grand Prix, at Kyalami, in 1977. I was sitting at the end of the main straight when there was an accident in front of the stands about half a mile away from me. A fire marshall ran across the track just as Tom came into view at high speed. His fire extinguisher caught Tom's helmet and killed him instantly. Tom's car carried on straight but didn't make the right bend where we were. Shook me up a lot at the time. It's on You Tube now but I don't want to watch it.

Hope Massa makes a full recovery. dl

Boro

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That was an awful accident. Why they allowed fire marhsalls onto the track at that point was horrendous, it was lucky the other fire marshall didnt get hit too

Being hit by something heavy at those speeds is deadly. I hope some good comes of the bad news of the last two weekends.

astraboy

Me too, thats a horrible picture, I've never really liked massa, but you have to respect his ability. I just hope he recovers
astraboy.

Gear Head

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No chance. You have to qualify to race. Only 1 Ferrari driver will race tomorrow.

Feel really bad for Massa, he is such a nice chap and a fantastic racer. Head injuries really are a 'grey area' and we will not know the full extent of the damage until they bring him out of the induced coma. Fingers crossed he will be ok.

STIV5_Wagon

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Here is the spring, Clearly visable and highlighted in blue circle.



P

+Doc+

Did he come round and brake himself or can they do that from the pits?
If he came round then this is hope for his recovery.
I can't see how any safety procedure could have stopped this other than some sort of screen.

Petem95

This was a freak accident - I don't think a screen over the cockpit would really be worthwhile to be honest, as the reduced visibility such as glare and rain streaming off it would probably cause more accidents.

I'm just wondering where this leaves Massa in terms of recovery - we saw Hammond on Top Gear (ok more serious accident), but the recovery period for head injuries can be long and unpredictable, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him out for the rest of the season.

I can't see Ferrari test drivers Marc Gene or Luca Badoer taking over either - I think Ferrari might draft in someone like Liuzi.

Janspeed

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It was an authentic missile hitting him.
I cringed when I saw the footage, the TV was with the sound off just as I happened to turn around.
Knew it was bad.

Leslie

That was a pretty hefty lump to hit him at that sort of speed. I hope he is not permanently injured and that he will soon recover.

Les

Gear Head

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Some positive news.

Good news update: Massa's condition has improved - Planet-F1 News - from planet-f1.com

Leslie

I was hoping he would be better than that this morning. I hope there is no permanent damage.

I have got a lot of time for him, apart from his excellent driving ability, he is a very fair driver, I would not be afraid to drive alongside him.

Les

Gear Head

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Brain injuries are very difficult to treat Les. My Dad had temperal lobe damage 10 years ago and he is still effected to this day. Everyone reacts differently.

Remember Richard Hammond was at death's door for quite sometime. Now look at him.
But in my opinion, it could still go either way for the poor chap. We just don't know.

Fingers crossed for the poor lad.

FlightMan

Looking at the state of Hammond every Sunday night, I wouldn't hold him up a shining example of recovery Chris!

Leslie

Yes you are right of course, and thats what is worrying me. We can only hope for him.

Les

Gear Head

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My point was more about how it can change people, completely! Although he is physically now fit, even he admits that his personality has changed as a result.

Janspeed

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Head injuries/problems are tough.

Turbo2

Ross Brawn must be thanking his lucky stars it didn't happen in Italy. Otherwise the Italians would have him and his mechanics banged up on attempted murder charges! They don't "do" accidents in Italy: it's always someone's fault!

Just ask Frank Williams about Senna! It would be 10x worse with a Ferrari driver.

Good luck Massa! If he doesn't carry on though, it could open the door to Ferrari for Alonso next year (assuming we still have F1 then).

Gear Head

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To be honest with you, it wouldn't surprise me if Alonso was in the other Ferrari for the next round at Valencia.

Janspeed

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Yeah but never the "right" people!

RRH

Massa has damage to his left eye. The doctors have said they don't know if he'll race again.

Boro

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Got a link?

RRH

I got it from one of the press guys at Red Bull, but its being reported on autosport here autosport.com - F1 News: Doctors reveal Massa left eye damaged

Boro

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Cheers for that

billythekid

FWIW I think he was only putting a few kg of pressure on the brakes, same on the throttle. I think the data from Ferrari says he had about 60bar going through the brakes at the time he left the track. Which is almost nothing compared to the 2000 or so at full pressure. Throttle was WOT IIRC...

Hope he recovers well.

Markus

I feel he's a very lucky chap indeed and hope he has a full recovery, hopefully NOT a speedy one, as when recovering from this you need to take your time.

I've seen the report stating they don't know how badly his left eye is damaged, and even if the skull / brain injuries heal quickly, if the eye is damaged then he'll unfortunately never race again Much as I loath the red team, I actually quite like Massa and he does have a bit of flair and it would be a sad loss to F1.

I also wonder what the mental trauma will be for him, and it might not be something that shows up right away, it may only show up when he's back in the driving seat. Granted they'll probably pop him in a simulator, but that won't be the same as the real thing. The real test will be when he's back in a car, an hopefully that'll be an allowed testing session, as you don't really want to pop your chap back into a car under race conditions to check he's ok, what happens if he looses it, mentally I mean, say a plastic bag flies in front of him and he just hits the breaks or swerves, and causes an accident, not good. Probably a moot point really, but you never know.

I also feel for Rubens, though it wasn't his fault, the spring did come from his car and I know if I were in his position I would feel in some way responsible, and if Massa cannot race again then again it would weight heavily on me. I know accidents happen, but you'd have to be very disconnected not to feel bad about it.

It'll be interesting to see who they put in for the next GP, as I seriously don't think Massa will be fit to race in Valencia, nearly superhuman F1 drivers may be, but he's had a fair old whack. Test drivers? Probably. Alonso? I know he wants the Ferrari drive, but he was doing rather well over the weekend, prior to the wheel issue, and I think he'd like to give it another crack whilst at Renault. Of course, if the worst happens and Massa does not return I think the offer could be made and it would be sorely tempting to make the switch.

billythekid

I would not worry about him having problems getting back in the seat. As soon as he is fit enough he will be back in the seat and will be flat from the off.

Re the replacement.. could be interesting. I dont think either of their test drivers have raced in quite a few years. The main contender has to be MS IMHO. Probably wont happen but he is their best driver and he would be able to get upto speed very quickly. I wonder if he holds a current licence...

RRH

As far as I'm aware Michael still holds a super license, but Willi Weber made a statement yesterday that Michael will not be in the race seat. Can't say I blame him either- he has nothing to prove, but a lot to lose.

Ralf, however, is available I'm told...

Petem95

Agree current test drivers (Luca Badoer and Marc Gene) are unlikely to complete the season in place of Massa - Gene hasn't raced for about 7 years and Badoer 10 - and neither were very impressive when they did.

Schmacher has already said he won't stand in, and I'm not surprised as expectations would be very high, and he's probably not maintained the required fitness level (why would he?!).

I reckon my money would be on Luizzi as he drove for Toro Rosso (liked with Ferrari as they use their engines) and he is current test drive for Force India.

Nico Hülkenberg looks very quick and is the current F3 champion, and he's managed by Schmachers manager Willi Weber, so I guess this might make him an option?....

And surely Alonso must be a possibility as mentioned....

dsmith

Sure I saw a report that suggested MS was still a nominated ferrari team driver. Cant see Kimi being too chuffed - could imagine MS showing him up quite alot

Hope massa can come back. I love the way hes either nowhere or outstanding. Seems to have some of the mansell-esqu Red mist ability.

Gear Head

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Great news.

Massa's left eye OK, says doctor - F1 | ITV Sport