Yesterday I happened to be watching a rowing regata in Cambridgeshire and so I missed the Formula 1 qualifying live. It was only when I got home that my other half alerted me to Felipe Massa's injury at the Hungary GP. I then turned the PVR on to watch what happened.
The spring from the back of Barrichello's car hit Felipe's crash helmet when he encountered it four seconds after it fell off. In a freak accident which mirrored to some extent the Formula 2 tragedy of Henry Surtees the week before at Brands Hatch, who was hit by an errant wheel from a previous accident, it is to be expected to hear calls for more safety.
It's strange how these accidents seem to happen close to each other. Back in 1994 Ayrton Senna died two days after Roland Ratzenberger and Barrichello and had a big accident in between. Before then, there had been twelve years before the previous fatality in F1.
The key to Massa's survival was the introduction of carbon fibre helmets four years ago. Had they been around in 94 maybe Senna would also have been saved. As it is, those accidents 15 years ago encouraged greater safety for cars now meaning that Massa did not have leg injuries also.
It sounds like Felipe Massa is going to make a full recovery and is in good care. I really hope so. He has developed into a great driver, and was unbelievably magnanimous in losing the F1 championship last year. I hope that he can make it back into the car before the end of the year.
I think, however, that Alonso will be in the Ferrari for the next race in a month's time - especially now that Renault have been banned from Valencia. He may stay there for next year, but who will he replace - probably Raikonnen who seems to be more interested in rallying now.
Anyway, my thoughts go out to Felipe Massa, his family, and to Rob Smedley - his race engineer with whom he has formed a great bond.
Squiffy.
No comments:
Post a Comment