Massas crash

[John S]

I hope Felipe is up and about soon and all the best to him and his family. Must have been quite an impact from both the spring striking him, and the barrier as he was continuing at high speed.

I suppose when you are travelling at that speed it is hard to make out just what is approaching you and you don't steer away from it. There is always a lot of litter that gets onto the race track but there is a big difference between a plastic bottle or piece of paper and the spring.

I was also wondering if the enclosed nature of the cockpits now may have inadvertantly made it impossible for Felippe to move his head to take the blow more on the side of his helmet. Mind you at the speed it all happened it was pretty much unavaoidable and just a freak accident that occours from time to time.

Last time I can remember a driver in F1 being struck hard on the head by an object whilst travelling at speed was Tom Pryce in South Africa, but hopefully the outcome this time will be quite different.

[Scott]

I just hope the incident is investigated in the interest of safety, not penalty.

[SennaMan]

I just hope the incident is investigated in the interest of safety, not penalty.

yes, me too Scotty

[Scott]

Apparently the brain swelling has subsided and they have woken him up with no further plans to induce a coma again.  They are still concerned about his left eye, but it is indeed good news.

From F1 Live:

The latest reports from the Budapest hospital AEK about the condition of recovering Ferrari driver Felipe Massa are very positive.

It is said that the Brazilian, seriously injured when flying debris struck the front of his helmet during Hungarian GP qualifying last Saturday, has been woken from his induced coma and will not be put unconscious again.

Another scan on Monday afternoon showed that the 28-year-old's brain swelling had subsided, moving the medical team to wake him up and withdraw the artificial breathing.

Massa is said to now be conscious and has spoken his first words since the crash. A full recovery is now expected, with the biggest concern now being the condition of his damaged left eye.

There were reports on Monday that Massa's optic nerve behind his left eye had been damaged to an unspecified degree.

It is however believed that his personal doctor Dino Altmann will not now push for the transfer from Hungary to Paris, given Monday afternoon's positive news indicates a far shorter hospitalisation.

[Jericoke]

Is proper binocular vision required for F1 racing?

Certainly the cars are moving at speeds that the human eye was never intended to perceive, and the braking markers are all clearly labelled:  the driver isn't relying on depth perception for braking zones.

Have there ever been drivers with impaired vision in one eye?

I know that National Hockey League players have participated without full vision in one eye.  Ice hockey does move fast, even if it's not as fast as Formula One.

[John S]

Is proper binocular vision required for F1 racing?

Certainly the cars are moving at speeds that the human eye was never intended to perceive, and the braking markers are all clearly labelled:  the driver isn't relying on depth perception for braking zones.

Have there ever been drivers with impaired vision in one eye?

I know that National Hockey League players have participated without full vision in one eye.  Ice hockey does move fast, even if it's not as fast as Formula One.

Some of the drivers in top flight motorsport wear glasses and others contact lenses, I think Seabass is a glasses wearer, it's harder to tell who contact lens wearers are because they are less visible but I'm sure there are some. The point is vision can be corrected to some extent so this may not prevent Massa racing again and I wish him a speedy return.

 

[lkjohnson1950]

I had to see the in car several times before I saw the spring and I was looking for it. I would bet Massa never saw it. There is also some indication it hit the padding on the edge of the cockpit first and bounced into Massa. However much pressure he applied to the brakes, he left skid marks suggesting the brakes were locked just before impact.

Lonny

[Scott]

I read somewhere that according to the telemetry the throttle was at 100%, while the brake pressure was about 60%.  The wheels were grabbing, but still spinning in the replays I saw.  I don't think he did it on purpose - it was either a spasm while he was unconcious, or he was concious and just stiffened up due to the shock and pain.

[Alianora La Canta]

it's harder to tell who contact lens wearers are because they are less visible but I'm sure there are some.

Jacques Villnueve definitely wears contact lenses, and he mentioned that most other contact lenses wearers never get spotted because they keep them on between sessions. I think he mentioned Rubens Barrichello as an example.

The problem comes if Felipe has damage to his eye other than near/farsightedness and astigmatism (which are primarily what contact lenses and glasses correct). The first-level problem is that if his left eye is deemed "partially sighted" (there's a lengthy explanation of what this means in Appendix L of the International Sporting Code), Felipe will be out of motorsport driving for five years while it is established whether and how the other eye compensates. The second-level is more subtle. If Felipe passes the tests, gets back in the F1 car and finds that his talent has been blunted a bit by sight damage, then he could find that he can't reach the heights he's used to. While we'd get to enjoy his talents for a while in that scenario, Felipe could get a bit frustrated, find that the frustration reduces what he can do on track (eventually being more of a block than the sight problem) and there is the risk of a negative spiral developing.

Hopefully when Felipe is in a state where a full eye examination is possible, the eye will prove to have no permanent damage and all this worrying will have been moot.

[SennaMan]

for medical implications please goto the Pitpass.com article:

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=38582

[lkjohnson1950]

Doesn't sound too promising unfortunately. Here's a hope and a prayer Felipe is one of the really lucky ones and recovers 100%.

Lonny

[Scott]

He's to be trasferred to Brazil on Sunday, and apparently is in good spirits. 

[Jericoke]

He's to be trasferred to Brazil on Sunday, and apparently is in good spirits. 

Of course he's in good spirts, he gets to see Schumacher race again!   

[John S]

He's to be trasferred to Brazil on Sunday, and apparently is in good spirits. 

Of course he's in good spirts, he gets to see Schumacher race again!   

       Spot on Jeri, who wouldn't be happy to see Schumi back in action!  

     

[lkjohnson1950]

Me.

Lonny