Felipe Massa, the schocking 2009 Budapest crash
During the qualifying session for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, one of the scariest accidents in modern Formula 1 took place. It was Saturday afternoon, and the drivers were pushing to secure a good grid position on the technical Hungaroring circuit. Felipe Massa, then driving for Ferrari, was on a flying lap when the unexpected happened. A spring weighing around 800 grams detached from Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn GP car ahead of him, bounced on the track, and struck Massa’s helmet at over 260 km/h. The impact was brutal: Massa immediately lost consciousness, and his car continued straight into the barriers at Turn 4. The unconscious driver, unable to control his muscles, continued towards the barriers with both the brake and accelerator pressed. This dynamic was confirmed by the long streak of rubber left on the run-off area due to the locked wheels. Fortunately, the car managed to decelerate from around 260 km/h to the 110 km/h at which the impact with the barriers at Turn 4 was recorded.
Rescue operations
The medical team reacted immediately after the impact. Felipe Massa was carefully extracted from the cockpit, still unconscious, and urgently transported to the circuit’s medical center. Due to the severity of the head trauma, he was then airlifted by helicopter to the AEK Hospital in Budapest, where he underwent emergency surgery to reduce brain swelling and remove bone fragments. The surgery and the speed of the medical response were crucial in saving his life.
The accident forced him to miss the rest of the season, but fortunately, he made a full recovery and returned to racing in 2010. The incident sparked a serious conversation about driver safety and led to advancements in helmet design and head protection—ultimately paving the way for devices like the Halo.
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