Felipe Massa has given his first interview since the horrible crash in qualifying at the Hungarian GP little more than a week ago. Massa shares that he is feeling much better and can't wait to get behind the wheel of his F60, but wants to fully recover before doing so. The interview is courtesy of the Scuderia Ferrari.
fer200979 wrote:
freedom_honda wrote:This is FREAKY. Replay shows a debri hitting Massa's helmet and knock him out. Hope he is fine.
where did it came from???
Yep, I've seen this on TV replay.
Looked like a beer can....
lolFLC
They were talking at McLaren, saying it was a bird
Yeah right .jonathan189 wrote:I heard enough of this stuff after the Surtees accident... look, accidents in motor racing are always "freak", but that does not mean that the risks can't be reduced.
The FIA needs to seriously consider shielded cockpits. Yes, they could potentially trap drivers inside the car, but do we not now have the technology to make them safe? It just needs a failsafe way for the marshalls to access the driver after an accident.
I wish the teams innovated regarding safety like they innovate when it comes to diffusers.
I would disagree simply because of how limp his arms were. He was still holding onto the steering wheel, but it's easily seen that his arms were bouncing up and down indicating his entire body was limp. I think that even the slightest pedal pressure on either the brake or throttle would have alot more movement than any of us might realize. Our road cars have a tremendous amount of travel, yet F1 cars have almost none by comparison I'd imagine. A report by James Allan on his website said that even with Massas foot merely resting on the brake produced 60 bar of pressure. I'm sure the throttle pressure would do the same.allan wrote:take a look at any of the onboard videos on youtube. the graphics show that Massa was fully on both throttle and the brakes, and that's why the car didn't slow down. Now I don't know how F1 cars brakes work (whether they can be applied partially or in an "all or none" manner), but I know that with such a massive impact to the frontal lobe, a seizure and involuntary muscle contractions are expected consequences, which would explain why his feet were stepping on both pedals, and why the engine was revving once the car stopped. Same applies to Henry S earlier this week.
Massa's cut eye and fractured skull say that it's integrity was compromised. Rubens himself is the one who raised the issue.Ray wrote:Well Tim, if the helmets aren't designed for that kind of impact, and it held up to that impact AND a big hit when he hit the tire wall and it didn't fail there either, I'd say there isn't a problem with the helmets. It had to major impacts and one it was never designed for and yet it never had it's integrity comprimised. Where do you see a problem?
Not so much as you would expect, because it's just based on the things you see fromIt's amazing just how much bullshit is in this one post. Maybe you should go back and read it again and see all that is wrong with it?
True, but what I meant was that it took TWO massive hits in the same area and that's not bad considering. He hit a 1kg spring at about 170 and then very likely bounced his head off the steering wheel in a violent impact with a tire wall. For someone to be awake and alert enough to touch his forehead acknowledging his injury mere minutes afterwards tells me that the helmets are plenty strong enough. The thicker you make them the heavier they are and the more damage they can do to the driver in case of an accident.myurr wrote:Massa's cut eye and fractured skull say that it's integrity was compromised. Rubens himself is the one who raised the issue.Ray wrote:Well Tim, if the helmets aren't designed for that kind of impact, and it held up to that impact AND a big hit when he hit the tire wall and it didn't fail there either, I'd say there isn't a problem with the helmets. It had to major impacts and one it was never designed for and yet it never had it's integrity comprimised. Where do you see a problem?
Actually I would expect that. Your saying that the impact with the tires wasn't hard is completely and utterly wrong. Watch his head and then tell me that wasn't hard, especially on someone that was very very likely unconscious. The car did have no grip, he ran over grass and then hit the run off area obviously covered in dust from what was shown on the tires. Also saying that the HANS device was not damaged is also pure speculation, many who have worn them before have stated that his head should not have gone that far forward under normal circumstances. Do I think it failed? No, I think the majority of his head going that far forward was due to his being unconscious. But that is my opinion just like you had one.mep wrote:Not so much as you would expect, because it's just based on the things you see fromIt's amazing just how much bullshit is in this one post. Maybe you should go back and read it again and see all that is wrong with it?
the onboard video and not some rumors somebody hears from somewhere.
And it is not based on the braking graphs on the left side that are obviously wrong.
I don't know why his head moved so far to the front and I never said anything about it.Watch his head and then tell me that wasn't hard, especially on someone that was very very likely unconscious.
Of course do the tires not have grip while they are on the grass,The car did have no grip, he ran over grass and then hit the run off area obviously covered in dust from what was shown on the tires.
Maybe but saying it was damaged is even more speculation.Also saying that the HANS device was not damaged is also pure speculation
Okay, you still aren't making a case for your argument. Of course not everyone gets injured in contact with a tire wall. And no you didn't say why his head went so far forward, but said that it wasn't a big hit, which is obviously wrong judging by the movement of his head. Both Heikki and Kimi were injured when they hit in Barcelona and Monza respectively, not severely in Kimis case but hey was very dazed, and Heikki was airlifted if I'm not mistaken. Both were awake, Massa was unconscious. Big difference there. It didn't look like a big hit and the damage was relatively light to the car, but Massa was banged up quite a bit. So that tells me, even with light damage to the car it was quite and impact and very bad for Massa. Tire walls are not soft at all, they merely absorb impact better than solid walls.mep wrote:Watch his head and then tell me that wasn't hard, especially on someone that was very very likely unconscious.
I don't know why his head moved so far to the front and I never said anything about it. Maybe it was just because he was unconscious. But I don't think it was because the impact was to heavy, Reason: There where tire wall, with guard rail behind and the car has a crash structure. But we have seen impacts just into guard rails or even solid wall and the driver had no injuries from that. So we have seen impacts with more G loads. That’s why I said the tires-walls are relatively soft.
That makes no sense whatsoever. Saying the car had no grip is the stone cold truth. You're wrong. Had he been conscious it wouldn't have mattered I don't think because his tires went through grass and then drove over a dusty run off area. All he would have done is hit that tire barrier with locked tires.mep wrote:If the brakes where full operated, the tires would have had enough grip to slow the car down.
Saying the car had no grip is nonsense because the tires would have looked then.
Okay, I'm wrong on that one. What I meant was saying it didn't fail is speculation. And by that I mean, was it strapped in properly, were the lanyards to his helemt too long, or any number of things. Many have stated that his HANS device seemed to have not restrained his head properly. In all of the races I've seen no driver wearing a HANS device has had that much forward movement of the head during a frontal impact. Having said that I can't think of any that were knocked out at the time.mep wrote:Maybe but saying it was damaged is even more speculation.Also saying that the HANS device was not damaged is also pure speculation
The reason: The HANS device is located lower in the car and it is half covered from the cars head protection on the side of the cockpit.
The spring hit the helmet and the head protection, so it can't hit the HANS on the same time.
Ok maybe it can hit the connection between helmet and HANS, I must check out where this is located and how it looks like.
It is the only possible way to damage the HANS.
And it would still be just damaged on one side, so the head would have be turned to the left during the impact.
Nothing went through the visor, there is no hole. It came detached from his helmet but I was not punctured in any way.richard_leeds wrote:Regarding the helmet debate...
Look at the pic on the first page, it is clear something went through the visor. The helmet itself seems dented but seems to be intact.
He was unconscious. How could he have steered away from anything if he was knocked out? Or are you going to keep ignoring that he was out, and that even the slightest touch on the pedals is extremely sensitive in those cars?allan wrote:@ Ray & andartop
siezures do not necessarily happen the way they show them on Tv's, with every muscle in the body twitching. A simple partial seizure can simply occur as small contractions in the arms and legs muscles, even the eyes. Massa was indeed holding to his steering wheel, but it wasn't necessarily a voluntary action (if it was he could have at least tried to steer away from the wall).
As for his risk for developing a postraumatic tonic seizure, it can greatly increase with concussion, skull base fracture, and what is called a subdural hematoma, caused by a subdural bleeding (this is the most common reason for emergency brain surgery following an accident).
I don't have much experience in brain trauma, but most of the info i presented came from a friend of mine who's an experienced neurosurgeon. However, it could all be wrong, especially that none of us was there, and the press releases aren't so info dense.
Anyways. What is more worrying to me is Massa's situation on the long term; his head injury can potentially put an end for his career because of his risk of complications... Let's just hope for the best
I did not say it was impossible, just that my opinion was this was not the case. We have to stick to the facts, and at the moment we do not have anything to support the view he had a seizure. According to the doctors who treated Massa, he suffered concussion and bone fractures of the skull. As we do not have more information it is anyone's guess, but my thoughts are that the surgery was to remove small fractured pieces of bone which could have caused further complications if left at the site. No one said that he underwent brain surgery, or that he developed a subdural hematoma, which is much more likely in a closed injury rather than an open wound. A seizure caused by a concussion is much more likely to be clonic, in which case, as I explained on my previous post, he would be pushing and releasing the pedals alternately..allan wrote:@ Ray & andartop
siezures do not necessarily happen the way they show them on Tv's, with every muscle in the body twitching. A simple partial seizure can simply occur as small contractions in the arms and legs muscles, even the eyes. Massa was indeed holding to his steering wheel, but it wasn't necessarily a voluntary action (if it was he could have at least tried to steer away from the wall).
As for his risk for developing a postraumatic tonic seizure, it can greatly increase with concussion, skull base fracture, and what is called a subdural hematoma, caused by a subdural bleeding (this is the most common reason for emergency brain surgery following an accident).
I don't have much experience in brain trauma, but most of the info i presented came from a friend of mine who's an experienced neurosurgeon. However, it could all be wrong, especially that none of us was there, and the press releases aren't so info dense.
Anyways. What is more worrying to me is Massa's situation on the long term; his head injury can potentially put an end for his career because of his risk of complications... Let's just hope for the best
Who let Spanky on the interwebs?jonathan189 wrote: When did you lose interest -- when they introduced seatbelts?
You enjoy your TT racing or whatever it is you watch now -- meanwhile I'll be hoping no F1 drivers die unnecessarily because possible safety measures have not been considered for fear of diluting the "essence of F1". The drivers are the essence of F1, and I prefer them alive.
Dont you have a campaign to run so Napoleon can take over the FIA? [-X 