<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>July 26, 2009
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Massa's skull fractured <!--10 min-->
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Massa (centre) of Scuderia Ferrari is carried out of his car after his accident during the qualifying session at the Hungaroring race track in Mogyorod near Budapest, Hungary. -- PHOTO: AP
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->BUDAPEST - FERRARI'S Felipe Massa, who underwent surgery following a 200kph crash in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, was in a 'serious, but stable' condition in a Budapest hospital on Saturday.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>SAFETY CONCERNS
The incident again threw the spotlight in safety in motor racing just a week after Britain's Henry Surtees was killed in an accident in a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch.
The son of former world champion John Surtees was struck by a wheel which flew off a competitor's car.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>'The condition of the driver is serious, but stable,' said a spokesman at the AEK Hospital.
The hospital's chief doctor Peter Bazso added: 'At the moment he's under anaesthetic and will be woken up on Sunday.' Some media reports suggested the driver's condition was 'life threatening' but a Ferrari spokesman denounced those claims.
The 28-year-old Brazilian - winner of 11 Grand Prix and the world championship runner-up in 2008 - came off at Turn Four after being struck by a piece of bodywork which had flown off the rear of compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car.
Massa was airlifted to hospital and underwent surgery on his fractured skull. Ferrari said that Massa suffered skull damage, cuts to his forehead and brain concussion.
Massa was hit on the face and was momentarily concussed as his car skewed off the circuit and into the tyre barriers. The Brawn team confirmed that Barrichello's car lost a piece of suspension and on-board film from Massa's Ferrari showed him being struck, losing control and going off the track.
'My thoughts right now are with Felipe and his family who are really close friends of mine and I hope he is going to be ok and will be fit as soon as possible,' said Barrichello.
Massa was lifted out of his driver's cockpit after being attended by medical staff and then taken to the circuit medical centre.
The accident took place shortly before the end of the Q2 mini-session during the hour-long qualifying period in which Massa managed to clock the eighth-fastest time.
Massa has been with Ferrari since 2006 and was pipped by just one point by Lewis Hamilton in the title race in 2008. He is currently in fifth place in the drivers championship with 22 points.
Meanwhile Spain's two-time champion Fernando Alonso took pole position. -- AFP
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Massa's skull fractured <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Massa (centre) of Scuderia Ferrari is carried out of his car after his accident during the qualifying session at the Hungaroring race track in Mogyorod near Budapest, Hungary. -- PHOTO: AP
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->BUDAPEST - FERRARI'S Felipe Massa, who underwent surgery following a 200kph crash in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, was in a 'serious, but stable' condition in a Budapest hospital on Saturday.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>SAFETY CONCERNS
The incident again threw the spotlight in safety in motor racing just a week after Britain's Henry Surtees was killed in an accident in a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch.
The son of former world champion John Surtees was struck by a wheel which flew off a competitor's car.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>'The condition of the driver is serious, but stable,' said a spokesman at the AEK Hospital.
The hospital's chief doctor Peter Bazso added: 'At the moment he's under anaesthetic and will be woken up on Sunday.' Some media reports suggested the driver's condition was 'life threatening' but a Ferrari spokesman denounced those claims.
The 28-year-old Brazilian - winner of 11 Grand Prix and the world championship runner-up in 2008 - came off at Turn Four after being struck by a piece of bodywork which had flown off the rear of compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car.
Massa was airlifted to hospital and underwent surgery on his fractured skull. Ferrari said that Massa suffered skull damage, cuts to his forehead and brain concussion.
Massa was hit on the face and was momentarily concussed as his car skewed off the circuit and into the tyre barriers. The Brawn team confirmed that Barrichello's car lost a piece of suspension and on-board film from Massa's Ferrari showed him being struck, losing control and going off the track.
'My thoughts right now are with Felipe and his family who are really close friends of mine and I hope he is going to be ok and will be fit as soon as possible,' said Barrichello.
Massa was lifted out of his driver's cockpit after being attended by medical staff and then taken to the circuit medical centre.
The accident took place shortly before the end of the Q2 mini-session during the hour-long qualifying period in which Massa managed to clock the eighth-fastest time.
Massa has been with Ferrari since 2006 and was pipped by just one point by Lewis Hamilton in the title race in 2008. He is currently in fifth place in the drivers championship with 22 points.
Meanwhile Spain's two-time champion Fernando Alonso took pole position. -- AFP
