Felipe Massa says he has no fears about returning to Formula One racing after he was seriously injured in July.
Massa told Britain’s Guardian newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday that the hardest part of his recovery has been his absence from the track.
”The worst thing that happened was not being able to race. If you can’t drive that’s terrible,” he said.
”My wife has already asked me, at least 10 times, ‘Are you sure you don’t feel any doubts or worries?’ Always, I say, ‘No, because this is what I like to do.’ Ever since I was a small boy this is my life. This is what I like to do.”
The 28-year-old Ferrari driver’s skull was fractured when it was hit by a spring from Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn GP car during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
On Monday he had plastic surgery on his skull where the spring hit his helmet in the accident at the Hungaroring on July 25.
The operation, at the Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein hospital, took around four hours and 30 minutes and had a positive outcome, Ferrari said on its website.
”After a short stay in hospital Felipe can go home and then start with his physical preparations,” Ferrari said.
The Italian team had already said it expected Massa to return next year. Italian veteran Giancarlo Fisichella has now joined the team from Force India for the rest of the season and will team up with Kimi Raikkonen at Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Massa told the Guardian: ”If I don’t drive then I am not the same person.
”I really hope, and expect, nothing will change inside of me when I go back into the car and start pushing to the maximum again.” — Sapa-DPA