Felipe Massa left AEK hospital on August 2 and returned to Brazil to be examined at the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo. Massa was discharged on August 4, one day before planned, to convalesce at home. It’s still not known when he will return to racing, but Dr. Altmann said no further treatment or surgery is needed.

Massa gave his first statement about the accident on August 1, saying, “Thank God I’m feeling very well. I still have a little swelling in the region of my left eye. I’m anxious to return to Brazil and continue working on my recovery.”

On July 25, 2009, in the second round of qualifying in the Hungarian Grand Prix Massa was struck on the helmet by a suspension spring that had fallen from Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn, on a high-speed part of the track.

He subsequently crashed head on into a tyre wall. He was moved to the trackside hospital and Ferrari’s team principal later stated that Massa was in a stable condition and would not participate in the race on the following day.

It was subsequently announced that he had suffered a fractured skull and brain concussion, as well as a gash on his forehead, and that he had undergone successful surgery on his injuries at the ÁEK hospital in Budapest.

His condition was initially described as “life threatening but stable” but has since shown signs of improvement and was removed from an induced coma.

Ferrari has announced that Massa’s former teammate, Michael Schumacher, will take over Massa’s race seat while he recovers.