Felipe Massa has said that he wants to return to the Formula One grid as quickly as possible, after being discharged from the AEK Hospital in Budapest.
The Brazilian, who has spent the last nine days in Hospital, recovering from the injuries received in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, has now flown back to Brazil to continue his recovery and plot his return to racing.
Although admitting that he has no recollection of the accident, Massa remains focused on returning the cockpit of his Ferrari F60 as quickly as possible.
“I don’t remember anything and that’s why what the doctors did had to be explained to me,” said Massa in his first interview since the accident, conducted before he flew to Brazil and given to Ferrari’s official website.
“When I saw Rob (Smedley, his race engineer), he asked me if I remembered Rubens, but the last thing I remembered was when I was behind him at the end of my fast lap in Q2, and than it’s blank. It’s difficult to explain.
“I’m feeling much better now and I want to recover as soon as possible to get back behind the wheel of a Ferrari.”
The Brazilian thanked his fans, members of the Formula One world and staff at the AEK hospital for their support during the initial days after the accident.
“First of all I want to thank God,” he said. “Then I want to thank the doctors at the race track and at Budapest’s AEK hospital, who have done a lot for me, and Dino Altmann, who came with my family from Brazil and who was extraordinary over the last days.
“But I also want to thank everybody who prayed and who wrote to me via my own and Ferrari’s website, hoping that everything went well.
“So many people wrote to me, also many who aren’t interested in Formula 1, but had heard about what happened to me: thank you so much and I want to tell them that I’m praying also for them. I would have done the same if an accident had happened to another driver: I would have prayed for him that everything went well.”
Massa also took time to comment on the return of Michael Schumacher, who will replace the Ferrari driver for the European Grand Prix. Although conceding that he could not give Schumacher any advice, Massa issued a warning to his former teammate, claiming that his return would be short-lived.
“Michael doesn’t need my advice! It was him who gave me many tips during my career when we were racing together,” added Massa.
“He knows how to win, he knows how to drive and he’s great: it was the best choice handing over the car to such a fantastic person and I’m sure that everybody will be happy to see him back on the track again. Although I hope I’ll be back on the track with Ferrari as soon as possible.”
