JOIN USSedated Massa under observation
Peter Bazso said the 28-year-old Brazilian was in a stable condition after surgery at Budapest's AEK military hospital on Saturday. A brain scan on Sunday had produced reassuring results. "It brought the result that we had expected concerning an injury of this type," he said. The doctor said Massa nonetheless remained in intensive care and in an "acute phase" of treatment.
He was woken from sedation briefly on Sunday after family members arrived, but then put back. The doctor said Massa will remain in that state for 48 hours before being awakened again. Bazso declined to go into details about the length or type of further treatment.
Last year's championship runner-up was flown to hospital after being hit on the head by bouncing debris from compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn during Saturday's qualifying.
A Defence Ministry official said on Saturday that the driver had been in a "serious, life-threatening condition" before the emergency operation.
The accident, which is likely to rule Massa out of the next few races, brought back grim memories of the crash that killed compatriot and triple champion Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994.
Safety measures
The accident on Saturday came less than a week after 18-year-old Briton Henry Surtees, son of Ferrari's 1964 Formula One champion John, was killed after a bouncing wheel hit him on the head in a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch.
Safety measures have improved hugely since 1994, with HANS head and neck safety devices, higher cockpit sides and stronger helmets, but there was a feeling that something more needed to be done.