Published: 3 August, 2009, 13:50
Edited: 3 August, 2009, 13:50
Nine days after suffering a life-threatening crash during qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Felipe Massa has left hospital in Budapest.
Hungary's defense ministry, which oversees the AEK military hospital where Massa was being treated, has confirmed the driver’s departure.
Massa is heading to Sao Paulo on a private jet, accompanied by his wife, pregnant with their first child, and family doctor Dino Altman.
”Thank God, I'm feeling very well. I only have a bit of swelling in the region of my left eye. I'm anxious to return to Brazil and continue the recovery process,” Massa said on Sunday in a statement.
Meanwhile, Ferrari has requested that an exception to the testing ban be made to help the man who will substitute for the Brazilian, the legendary Michael Schumacher, reacclimatize before his return to the ring in Valencia. With all other teams not opposed to the move, Williams is reported to be using its right of veto, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports.