Felipe Massa remains in a stable condition in hospital today after fracturing his skull in two places during a freak accident in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
A Ferrari statement today read: "After undergoing an operation yesterday afternoon, Felipe Massa's condition remains stable and there were no further complications through the night.
"He will be given another CT scan today which will provide more precise information."
The 28-year-old was struck by a spring - which can weigh anything up to a kilogram - that had worked loose from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP during the middle 15-minute period of qualifying.
The spring was seen bouncing along the Hungaroring track before flying over the front of Massa's Ferrari that was travelling at 170mph, striking the Brazilian on the helmet just over his left eye.
Massa appeared to be knocked unconscious, with his right foot jamming down on the throttle as he drove straight into a tyre barrier.
Stricken in the car, photographs emerged showing a fist-sized dent in his helmet, and with the visor up, there was a large cut over a blackened left eye.
Massa was initially treated at the circuit's medical centre before being taken by helicopter to Budapest's AEK military hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.
A Ferrari official later described the operation as a "success".
Massa's parents and wife, Anna Rafaela, who is expecting their first child later this year, arrived at the hospital yesterday after flying in from Brazil.
"It's hard for a father, a mother and a wife to stay here and get news by phone," Massa's father, Luiz Antonio, said before departing from Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo. "The information that we have is that he will be woken up tomorrow morning (Sunday), gradually removing the sedatives so he can wake up well."
Massa underwent surgery around 4.20pm local time yesterday, about an hour after being airlifted to the hospital. He was conscious at the time.
Hungary's defense department, which runs the hospital, said in a statement that Massa had suffered "serious, life-threatening injuries including loss of consciousness and a fracture of the forehead on the left side and a fracture on the base of the skull."
The crash came less than a week after Henry Surtees, the son of former Formula One champion John Surtees, died in similar circumstances during a Formula Two race last Sunday. Surtees was struck in the head by a tire from another car, causing him to lose consciousness and drive into a barrier.
Source:The times
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