Massa's eye

I was guessing he would be driving a 07/08 F1 car? Where did you here the GP2 car thing?

 

He is going to drive a F2007 with GP2 slick tires mounted. Similar to what MS did at Mugello.

 

Maybe he was healed and this is complications after he told his wife he was going back on track

 

looking quite promising for Felipe......

Carol

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f1 live

Despite earlier disputing claims Felipe Massa will make his return to the cockpit of a F1 car after the forthcoming weekend, Ferrari now admits the Brazilian could be ready for his run in the two-year-old F2007 next Monday.

In a statement of support this week, Sir Frank Williams revealed that stewards at Suzuka last weekend gave the famous Italian team clearance for Massa's October 12 test at Fiorano.

A spokesman initially denied the date, but Ferrari now admits: "Early next week, maybe already on Monday, Felipe will finally get back on the track in a real Formula One single seater."

Massa has been at Ferrari's Maranello headquarters since Monday, racking up hours in the driver simulator at nearby Modena, alongside his engineer Rob Smedley.

The activity sparked rumours Massa might attempt a return to racing action next weekend at Interlagos, but it is believed a more realistic early target is the 2009 finale at Abu Dhabi.

Ferrari has confirmed that the driver, seriously injured in a qualifying crash in July, will be Fernando Alonso's full time team-mate in 2010.

The team said: "On Friday he (Massa) will fly to Paris for check-ups under the eyes of the FIA, before he will come back to Italy."

 

you'll be correct on that one...I was watching the japanese GP in a bar with very bad reception and only caught 'Massa, GP2, this week and FIA permission'...

So I assumed he'd be driving a GP2 car

 

I can't agree more......

 

As of this AM the team is discounting that possibility.

 

Felipe Massa's vision has fully recovered after his Hungaroring accident, an examination in Paris has confirmed.

On Monday Massa intends to drive a Formula 1 car for the first time since the accident when he takes to the track in a 2007 Ferrari. He is undergoing FIA medical examinations today and tomorrow at the Pitie Salpetriere hospital in Paris to check the progress of his recovery, and the first of those confirmed that his eye was back to full health.

"The first outcomes are positive," said a Ferrari statement, "especially the ophthalmological exam confirmed that Felipe, who arrived with his personal doctor Dino Altmann, has recovered the functions of his left eye by 100 per cent."

The medical tests will continue on Saturday.

Massa has spent the last week working with Ferrari in Italy, completing two days of running in the team's simulator. He admitted yesterday that he is highly unlikely to be ready to race in Abu Dhabi as he had initially hoped, but is confident of being at full fitness in time for the 2010 season.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79357

 

Passing a vision test is one thing having recovered from the physical trauma another.

 

I tend to agree. Being the driver he is I'm sure he'd like to get back ASAP and Ferrari felt they owed it to him. Or Ferrari wanted to see if he was viable for next year before the driver's market closed for the season.

 

You new to the world of Ferrari team politics and linguistics?

 

I have enjoyed this thread very much. As a practicing ophthalmologist who is on emergency call as we speak I have been worried about the trauma suffered by Felipe Massa in Hungary.
Many have correctly pointed out that one photo does not allow for a definitive diagnosis.

That said what do we see in the photo

The eye is red- could be just a broken blood vessel that happens with minimal trauma and is seen many times after facial surgery which Massa did have.

The eye looks smaller
This is either because the upper lid has dropped "Ptosis" which occurs after a blunt facial trauma to the region of the eye brow. This is mostly cosmetic as it does not affect the visual axis. It tends to recover over time or may require a lid resuspension at about 6 months post trauma.

The eye can also be smaller because the floor of the orbit is broken and the globe has sunken into the cheek ( maxillary cavity) This blow out fracture indeed saves the eye from devastating injury by essentially creating a "crumple zone" for the delicate eye to escape into. If the fracture is large or the eye muscles have become entrapped then double vision "diplopia " may develop and that will need correction.

What the photo does not tell us, and this is what concerns me, is what is the status of the pupil. I cacn not see in any photo if this eye has a dilated pupil. That is truly bad news if it were to exist as the eye suffered a major trauma and the nerve has been injured. Vision may return but with some compromise. A distorted pupil would mean that the eye may have been lacerated, extremely doubtful or that the eye developed a severe hyphema ( filled with blood) also doubtful but may not be as devastating.

So we neeed more photos and the release of opthalmic testing to make the proper diagnosis.
As a Massa fan with great friends in Brazil that are fellow ophthalmic surgeons I can rest assured that Massa will be back but not until next year. The season is lost, the car is crap and this may be Reubens year. As a former pilota and native son of Sao Paulo I wish him the best in the Russ Braun car!
Forza Felipe!

Now back to being on call, or as Obama eloquently said it
Time to hunt me down so poor sucker whose leg I can cut off or tonsils I can yank out cuz the money is so good LOL!

 

I agree with you wholeheartedly... however... it seems there has been a pretty transparent PR campaign by the Massa camp since the accident. I remember one of the first reports was from Massa's own doctor who stated something like... it's a serious injury and we don't know if he will be able to drive ever again.

I can just imagine how quickly his phone rang after that comment.

Since then, I have noticed he has been very outspoken in saying everything is fine, everything is good, Massa is doing "beyond our best hopes" in his recovery, etc, etc.

There has very obviously been a decision made and enforced upon everyone involved with this from the Massa camp to play down the seriousness, to eliminate any question in their commentary about whether he will drive next year, etc, etc.

However, the Ferrari team doesn't operate on BS, it operates on facts. Which is why they haven't been participating in the same BS fest the Massa camp has. And that is why the dissonance. Ferrari are acting on facts. Massa's people are talking PR. Where the rubber meets the road - or the facts meet the BS, as it were - we see the truth. Which is, Massa is not fit to drive the car, but may be in the future (we shall see).

 

Massa cleared after vision test

Eurosport - Fri, 09 Oct 23:14:00 2009

Felipe Massa's vision has recovered fully after his life-threatening accident in July and he will get back behind the wheel of a Formula One car
2009 Formula One Felipe Massa as he prepares for F1 comeback with Ferrari


The Brazilian (pictured), who fractured his skull at the Hungarian Grand Prix, returned to Ferrari's Maranello factory and has been working in a Formula One simulator for much of the week.

He flew to Paris on Friday for neurological and ophthalmological tests conducted by the FIA at the Pitie Salpetriere hospital that will continue on Saturday.

"The first outcomes are positive: especially the ophthalmological exam confirmed that Felipe, who arrived with his personal doctor Dino Altmann, has recovered the functions of his left eye by 100 per cent," Ferrari said on their website.

The Brazilian was hit on the head, just over his left eye, by a metal spring that fell off compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn and bounced down the track in qualifying at the Hungaroring.

Massa will fly to Brazil after his test in a 2007 Ferrari at Fiorano and will wave the chequered flag at his home grand prix at Interlagos on October 18.

The Brazilian won at the Sao Paulo circuit last year before losing out on the title by a single point to McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

This year's race, the penultimate of the season, could decide the title with Britain's Jenson Button leading Massa's friend Barrichello by 14 points.

The season ender is in Abu Dhabi on November 1, but Massa said he was unlikely to be fit to compete in it.
Reuters

 

While Massa has passed a vision test, I still have serious doubts that he will be able to return to his old form.

The vision test does not factor in the pressure from his helmet on the injury area. Now factor in high g-forces under braking, acceleration, and cornering. Then there is the unknown psychological issues that might rear up in the future I.E. How will he react when a bug smashes into his visor at speed??? Will he stay on the gas and drive through it or will he back off and park the car in fear of a repeat???

 

An interesting take on the situation Mike, and not unlikely.
One point that I haven't seen addressed is that the most recent round of tests involved the FIA. I imagine that they have to sign off on his fitness before he can race again. This adds another layer of complexity. I just wish I trusted them to be looking out for Massa's best interest but given Max and Co.'s record I have my doubts.

BTW how's the foot?

 

I'm glad Massa's eye is reportedly OK (don't know who released the info). But it may have little relevance to his return to form. Let's see him qualify first.

 

So you see the dissonance, right?

On the one hand, "his eye is 100%". On the other "Massa sais he was unlikely to be fit to compete in [the season ender]".

I don't buy that he became unfit just in a matter of weeks (fitness wise), so I assume they are talking about his injury... so he's 100% yet unfit to drive the car?

Something smells funny there...

 

It's very strange that the FIA would even be involved. Why wouldn't they take the teams word that a driver was OK? They take the teams word for a new driver, don't they? It's not as if they take a new driver and subject them to all sorts of medical tests before granting a superlicense, so it seems strange they would demand tests in Massas case. I've never heard of WRC drivers being subject to medical tests after injury. It certainly seems like they make it up as they go along!

Thanks for your concern on my injury It's 75% better... can walk with only a slight limp now - should be back to 100% by Monday. When do you get worked on for your shoulder? If you need any beer deliveries or such to assist in your recovery (or just to numb you a bit), let me know

 

Ahh well I dropped a planing machine on my foot today just to make you too old coots happy. I was feeling left out..

Massa well we will have to wait and see, I'd say his main worry will be with FA stealing his thunder.

 

I can't remember where I got it from, but I *believe* that's exactly what they do.... [Isn't part of the superlicense fee they pay for "medical exam(s)"?]

You for sure need a medical "permit" (granted by an RAC approved doc in the UK, I guess the SCCA etc here?) before you can go and play.... I suspect (but certainly don't claim to know) that in cases like this, the FIA has "approved" doctors etc that have to pass him "fit" before he can race again.

I suspect he's "fit enough", but as has been said here ad nauseam, why not wait until next year? He can go and test the new car, get back into it and take it from there - Nothing to be gained by coming back in the desert.....

Cheers,
Ian