Injured Brazilian driver Felipe Massa got behind the wheel of something resembling a racing car for the first time since his horrific Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying crash yesterday, an abortive bimble around a Brazilian track in a go-kart.
The Ferrari driver has been resting and recuperating at home in Brazil since he was released from hospital in Hungary following his accident at the Hungaroring, when he was hit on the helmet by a flying spring that had fallen off Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP car during the qualifying session. Massa was placed in a medically induced coma following the accident, after sustaining head injuries that doctors described as "life-threatening".
But, after successful surgery, he was released, and has spent his time since then recovering at home in Sao Paulo.
Yesterday, he completed a mere seven laps behind the wheel of a go-kart at a citcuit just outside the city, which represented the first on-track action he has undertaken since the accident.
According to a "source close to the Ferrari driver", who was not named, he was accompanied to the track by friends and Dino Altmann, his personal doctor who has been overseeing his recuperation.
According to the source, Altmann advised Massa to drive for no longer than an hour to avoid putting too much strain on his back, but rain at the track curtailed his run after just a handful of laps regardless of medical concerns. Massa reported no pain or discomfort during the short test.
Massa has said that he plans to compete in a go-kart race in late November, in the brilliantly-named Brazilian city of Florianópolis.
As for his return to Formula One, Ferrari have said that he will have a drive with them for next year, subject to his medical situation remaining positive.
Although Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali refused to rule out him returning before the end of the current season recently, the likelihood is that Massa will return to F1 action in the Bahrain GP on March 14th next year, as the team mate to new signing Fernando Alonso.
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