Felipe Massa's progress is such that his personal doctor now predicts a
full recovery for the Formula One driver, injured nearly a week ago in a
high-speed crash during qualifying for the Grand Prix of Hungary.
The Ferrari driver joked about his replacement, seven-time world driving
titlist Michael Schumacher. "Let's see if I let him," Dino Altmann
quoted Massa to Hungarian state news agency MTI on Thursday.
Schumacher, who won five consecutive driving titles with the Italian
team and helped them to six consecutive constructors' titles, was named
Wednesday by Ferrari to take Massa's race seat until the injured driver
can return. Expectation exists that Schumacher, 40, who retired from
racing cars in 2006, will drive the remaining seven grands prix of the
season.
Altmann was quoted by the MTI agency as saying Massa "looks like a
boxer, but he's eating well, walking about, taking showers."
Massa, 28, suffered a skull fracture and heavy bruising around his
left eye when he was struck by a spring weighing 800 grams (nearly two pounds) that
fell off the Brawn GP of compatriot Rubens Barrichello on Saturday.
Massa, who was estimated to be traveling at some 250 km/h (160 mph) at the moment the spring
bounced from the pavement and hit his helmet, crashed into a tire
barrier. According to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Massa
also suffered intestinal inflammation caused by his abdomen's abrupt
halt against the car's seat belt at the moment of impact with the tire
barrier.
Massa underwent emergency surgery Saturday and was placed in induced
coma and on a respirator to aid recovery. He was awakened and taken
off the respirator Monday. By Tuesday, he was alert and responding to
questions in three languages, Altmann told reporters at AEK military
hospital in Budapest, Hungary, where he was taken from the Hungaroring.
Wednesday, the driver was moved to a private room from the hospital's
intensive care unit.
The MTI agency Thursday quoted Altmann as saying last year's world
championship runner-up will stay in hospital for a few more days and
will at length fly straight home to Brazil. La Gazzetta dello Sport
asserted Altmann said that could be as soon as Sunday.
