Driver Felipe Massa fractures skull in crash
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Felipe Massa completed successful surgery after fracturing his skull in a high-speed crash Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Italian team says the 28-year-old Brazilian driver will remain in intensive care, although it does not know how long he will stay under observation. He was conscious and in stable condition when he arrived at AEK hospital by helicopter with a concussion.
The crash occurred Saturday after a spring had fallen off another car and flew up and struck Massa in the helmet. An apparently dazed Massa continued driving over a curb and across the track. He went through the gravel area alongside the Formula One circuit before striking a tire-lined barrier.
The impact of the rear suspension part – a standard component which Brawn GP team principal Ross Brawn believed was made of steel – damaged the left side of Massa’s helmet, ripping out the visor and leaving a long dent on its side. Blood was seen above Massa’s left eye.
