Felipe Massa ...

[DandyA]

let's hope for the best ... I wish him well ... I have no inside knowledge but I suspect the reports in the media are playing this down ...

he was hit by a 1Kg lump of metal at over 100mph on his skull just above his left eye ... it doesn't seem good to me ...

but let's hope for the best ...

[imy147]

He is improving according to reports so let's hope he is ok.

[RGCirencester]

170mph wasn't it and then he managed to stay conscious and apply breaks but still hit the tire wall at 120mph i think it was.

Lets hope he gets better it really was a truly truly unlucky thing that happened

[Matt_2745]

Think he'll be ok, just glad it's not another Surtees, that was even worse.

[rollingegg]

doctor says his eyesight was damaged, which might terminate his career, not sure if it's confirmed or not. wish he's ok.:snooker:

[JamesFoster]

Yeah I hope he recovers. I also hope Jenson Button does the business this season. But why aren't the media getting behind him like they did with Lewis Hamilton?

[Kathrin]

170mph wasn't it and then he managed to stay conscious and apply breaks but still hit the tire wall at 120mph i think it was.

Lets hope he gets better it really was a truly truly unlucky thing that happened

from what i read and heard he was unconscious right away that´s why he hit the tire wall at that speed (here it says 200 kmh, dunno how much mph it is). he was put into coma and is said to be woken up from it step by step the next days.

[rollingegg]

M Schumacher is back in Massa's place for the rest of the season

[tabbfan]

All i heard was that he fractured his skull

[samad]

It was very unlucky and especially the way he got injured , that must have hurt

[totlxtc]

Normally i agree with alot of what Niki Lauda has to say. But when he described it as "a wakeup call for F1 safety" i thought it was a little silly. It was a very very freak and unfortunate accident. For the spring to come off Barrichello's car, bounce down the road at such a height to hit his helmet was so unlucky. Mainly it has been wheels in the past, as what happen to John Surtees son. But it is part of the risk. In the early 70's a driver was killed after a bird hit his visor and he crashed into a wall. That is the only other freak accident i can think of.

Doctors say he will recover in 2 months, but with all the further tests he will need i dont think you will see him next year either, if ever again at all. Its very very sad, but im relieved he is on the road to recovery.

Schuey will certainly stir things up and Raikonneen better pull his finger out. Good of Schuey to step upto the plate too.

Photos of the accident (Not for weak stomached):
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/07...ml#cnnSTCPhoto

[perpetualboredom]

There was also a driver killed when a marshal ran on to the track to put out a car that was on fire, only to be hit by another car. The marshals fire extingisher hit that driver on the head and killed him (and the marshall). Now that was a tragic one.

[saddler79]

Wish Massa all the best for a speedy recovery and R.I.P to young surtees. Both of these incidents and alonsos bouncing wheel have shown that it is time to consider cockpit covers or canopies. Quick release, light weight and strong.

[totlxtc]

There was also a driver killed when a marshal ran on to the track to put out a car that was on fire, only to be hit by another car. The marshals fire extingisher hit that driver on the head and killed him (and the marshall). Now that was a tragic one.

I was going to mention that incident, but that was due to the marshall being inexperienced at the time.

Most tragic story was again from the 1970's.

From Wiki:

During the race, Williamson suffered a sudden tyre deflation, which pitched his car into the barriers at high speed and catapulted it 300 yards (275 m) across the track, eventually coming to rest upside down against the barriers on the other side, during which his petrol tank had ignited while being scraped along the track. A fire began to take hold and Williamson was unable to extricate himself. Fellow driver and friend David Purley, although not a teammate of Williamson's, abandoned his own race in a desperate and valiant attempt to rescue him. Williamson had not been seriously injured by the impact, and was heard shouting to Purley to get him out of the car as Purley tried in vain to turn the car upright. Initially the commentators on Dutch TV, race control and some of the other drivers participating in the race assumed that it was Purley's car that had crashed and that the driver had escaped unharmed. As a result the race continued at full pace while Purley desperately tried to save the life of his friend.

The fire marshals stationed at the corner where the accident occurred were both poorly trained and badly equipped, and it was left to Purley to snatch the sole fire extinguisher and attempt to put out the fire. The marshals, who were not wearing flame retardant overalls, stood by as Purley tackled the fire, awaiting the arrival of the fire truck, which had to navigate across the track while the race was still in progress. There appeared to have been ample time to right the car and pull Williamson out, but as desperately as he tried, Purley was unable to do it by himself, and the marshals, in shirts and jackets, were unable to help due to the intense heat. With the fire extinguisher emptied and the car still burning upside-down, the situation became hopeless, and the distraught Purley was led away by a marshal. Some spectators, appalled at Williamson's plight, tried to breach the safety fences in order to help Purley, but were pushed back by track security staff with dogs. It was some eight minutes before the first fire truck arrived on the scene. By the time the car was eventually righted, and the fire extinguished, Williamson had died of asphyxiation.

A blanket was thrown over the burnt-out wreck with Williamson still inside, and the race carried on.

Photographs taken by Cor Mooij of the reaction of David Purley were awarded the World Press Photo for sports in 1974. Purley was awarded the George Medal for his actions in trying to save Williamson. In 2003, on the 30th anniversary of his fatal crash, a bronze statue of Roger Williamson was unveiled at the Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire, England. Then-owner Tom Wheatcroft had provided financial backing to Williamson, and described the day Williamson died as "the saddest day of my life".