This could be more realistic - Felipe Massa on Monday said he was targeting a return to competitive Formula One action at his home Brazilian Grand Prix in mid October. "I hope that I can be back at the Brazilian Grand Prix for my public, and perhaps even earlier," the injured Ferrari driver told Brazilian TV Globo. It is reported that the 28-year-old's recuperation is progressing at speed, but that the vision in his left eye is not yet back to 100 per cent. Massa is hoping that by the next round of detailed tests at the beginning of September, he will be given the green light to return to the track. "If the doctors here in Brazil say it is OK I will first of all get into a kart," he said. The step after that is for the FIA's medical team to assess him. "I can hardly wait to drive again," said Massa, who revealed that he has not feared death at any time during or since his Hungarian GP qualifying crash ordeal because he remembers nothing of the actual incident.
At that point (second race before end of season), I would rather see him sit out and get into long-term great shape for a return next year.
Based on all these Massa threads, I wonder if Massa is in fact Elvis or Tupac.... maybe the spring done him in.
Nothing like motivation to speed healing. Well done Massa - hope you make it. Even if you do not recover that quickly, the target will help you to heal as fast as possible
latest on Felipe ... Carol from f1 live Kimi Raikkonen has not telephoned or visited Felipe Massa since his Ferrari teammate was injured at the Hungarian grand prix last month. "Kimi has not called but I saw a video made by Sky (television) with all the drivers. He sent me a card to the hospital," Massa, 28, told Brazilian reporters on Monday. Massa, however, said Raikkonen's silence is "no problem" since the Finn is a "unique person". Michael Schumacher has been in contact with the Brazilian since he had to call off his sensational Valencia comeback, Massa revealed. "He told me had had pain in his neck when the car drove over bumps on the circuit," Massa said. Recent speculation has hinted at a return for Massa at the Italian grand prix next month, but the driver instead said he is simply hoping to come back before the end of the season. "I'm still not 100 per cent and my sight in the left eye still isn't 100 per cent," Massa insisted. "I'm about 85, 90 per cent recovered. There is still a bit to go before I'm back to normal." He said his convalescence at present is "boring" because he is not allowed to do any physical training, and revealed that he will have some cosmetic surgery to correct his facial scar.
I have a feeling that Massa will take the wheel in Brazil on Friday for practice then step out of the car and announce that he is retiring at the same time that Rubens does.
A little harsh on Kimi's part there. I wonder if Massa's quote of "Unique person" is code for "Special". Or "you B*****d why didn't you come and visit me?"
A key part of recovery is to have goals. In that sense this is great news. Reaching those goals on schedule is another thing. Time will tell. Forza Phil.
how true - you have to admire Felipe for his show of class in his comment about Kimi....another reason I hope Ferrari buys off Kimi and Alonso is in his seat (never thought I'd say that!!) Carol
Right, it won't make life easy for him but it might make a team within Ferrari more plausable than what currently exists - DC is not of great significance to me, it's the CC that counts! Carol
I'm with you there but FA doesn't play well with others and can have a disruptive effect on the team. BTW Is there any doubt that FA cares about the DC rather more than the CC?
Exactly - the comment reminds me of a t-shirt with a snorting bull - and below was "doesn't play well with others" ! ! FA = DC #1; FM = DC, yes he'd definitely like it as would any driver but he's also a CC person in my opinion. Guess today I'm being generous giving everyone the benefit of doubt. I did just read this about Felipe and kudos to him for it ! ! (I've read lots of comments on other sites regarding Felipe -> "I've never seen or heard of a more likeable sportsman, a true gent in every way, may be come back when he's ready even better than before"; "Whether he is ever F1 champion or not, he is first and foremost a proper gentleman" are just a few) Felipe Massa has expressed his gratitude to Budapest's AEK hospital, which treated him after a horror accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix last month. "I am convinced that the speed and the quality of the treatment I received at the AEK hospital was fundamental to reducing the duration of my convalescence," the 28-year-old, who is now recovering in Brazil, wrote in an email read out at a ceremony in Budapest on Monday. A representative from the Brazilian sports ministry, Ricardo Leyser Goncalves, also thanked Hungary for the "attentive and professional" care that Massa had received in Budapest. "Thanks to the professional excellence and the kindness (of the staff), this story has had a good ending," Goncalves said at the event, noting the shock felt in Brazil after the fatal accident of Ayrton Senna in 1994. "All of Brazil could relax that Felipe Massa was in good hands," he added. * * * * here's Felipe's comments about his accident -->>> "I lived the accident, but I slept," he said. "I didn't see the spring. Many people ask me: 'the spring came, did you not see it?' But I didn't see it hit me, I didn't see anything. The spring just hit my head and I slept. The car crashed and I carried on accelerating but it almost wasn't me that was doing it. It looks like I move my hands, but I was sleeping. "When I woke in hospital, I felt that everything was working. I saw that my eye was really really big, but I was breathing and thinking. I could move my arms, I could move my legs, I could move everything," he asserted.
Felipe has proven himself to be a class act hasn't he? In a perfect world he'll return and bring a DC and a CC in 2010.
I think you guys get too worked up over Fernando's one season at McLaren and being a disruptive force. I think the situation is a bit like Piquet's when he went to Williams with 2 DC's under his belt, and felt that Mansell should be the second driver. Well with Alonso, he went to McLaren having won consecutive DC's at Renault, and felt he should have been given better treatment in relationship to his Novice (F3000 Champion) teammate by Ron Dennis. I don't think he is really that disruptive other than the fact that he felt mistreated in his one season at McLaren. I always felt, that he should have gone to Ferrari in 2007 were he would have felt more at home, and KR should have stayed at McLaren with Lewis, where he knew the team better and wouldn't have let LH under his skin the way Fernando did. I think Fernando will do an excellent job at Ferrari, and even Piero Ferrari has said he would be an outstanding addition to the team.
Are you forgetting 2006, when Alonso spent all that time complaining that Renault wasn't supporting him? Or after Turkey, that year, when Alonso complained that Fisi wasn't doing enough to support Alonso's WDC bid? (That was the race where Fisi veered into Kimi's McLaren, rather than running into the back of Alonso when Alonso stomped on the brakes directly in front of Fisi at turn one. But Fisi wasn't "supporting Alonso".) Alonso hasn't been making as many stupid comments lately, but I suspect that's largely lack of opportunity, as the media spotlight has moved elsewhere. I think Alonso is in the best place for his career, right now, with Renault. He can develop the car as he likes, and can take all the credit for any success. At Ferrari, he'd just be a rent-a-driver.
I'm not so sure about Alonso not being such a disruptive force Tony. I used to be a big fan of his but little by little I saw things that made me dislike him. I especially remember his comments about the Renault team. After they made him the youngest champion in F1 history at the time in 2005, he had a hard fight with Schumacher in 2006 and started saying things like "I feel alone" because he didn't have a comfortable points gap any more. The worst was when he said he thought that maybe the team didn't want him taking the number one to McLaren the following year and that maybe they prefered he lose! That was really insulting. Then came 2007 with his questionable behavior regarding the stolen Ferrari data and his downright childish actions regarding Lewis' speed. If he just focused on his own speed he could have beaten Lewis in his rookie year but he prefered to play politics and mind games. If the car is dominant at Ferrari it could be like 2005 again. But if Felipe comes back strong and isn't told to be Alonso's lapdog, or if the car is good but not quite the best, there could be trouble. But I definitely agree with you about Kimi. I think he should have stayed put at McLaren. His Iceman personality fit in much better there than at Ferrari and I'd bet he could have had 2 WDCs by now instead of 1.
