'Stay calm', Barrichello advises Massa

Rubens Barrichello believes that Felipe Massa should not rush his return to Formula One following his shocking accident at the Hungaroring just under four weeks ago. The Brawn driver has visited his compatriot at home in São Paulo and is firm in the belief that, whilst Massa is in good health, no hurry back to the track should take place.

Massa was hospitalised in Budapest after being hit on the head at approximately 160mph (260km/h) by a steel spring from Barrichello's car with a weight of 800g (1.7lb). Now resting at home in Brazil following a CT scan in Budapest's ÁEK hospital, Felipe will soon be travelling to the USA in order to visit a neurology specialist in Miami.

"From a friend's point of view, he is ready to race," Barrichello said in Valencia on Friday. "He has some stitches in his head but he is ready to race; but from a medical point of view, I think he has to stay calm and wait for an answer - with all the x-rays that he showed me, there is some good recovery still to make. He still cannot exercise so it will take a little while before he can do that, then I'm sure he will drive a go-kart before he comes back to F1 but I am not so sure there is enough time for him to do that (in 2009).

The Ferrari driver hopes to be back in action by his home Grand Prix on 18 October although Rubens stresses that Felipe's condition must be placed atop the agenda. "I hope he is back in Brazil but I would not hurry up to get back," Barrichello continued. "He has a safe place at Ferrari and, in the same way I wanted to see him as the same Felipe, I want to see the same Felipe driving when he comes back."

Rubens added a recollection of his first telephone call with Massa following the latter's Hungaroring accident: "I was in Orlando at one of the theme parks. My phone rang and I missed the call - it said 'Massinha' (Little Massa). I thought that maybe it was his brother but I called the number back and he answered; for me it was kind of emotional but not because I have ever felt I needed to do something for him because the spring fell off my car - I never felt sorry for myself that that thing hit him but I felt sorry that I had a friend like that.

"In the days that I spent at the hospital, someone went inside and came back with an answer then someone else went inside and came back with an answer; you never knew the real truth so I was apprehensive and I felt so good when he called me, it was such a relief. That was emotional, I can tell you - my kids were all there, playing, but I left them for twenty minutes and had to go back after."

Source: GP Update