Massa says he’s back

LONDON – Formula One driver Felipe Massa said yesterday he has no doubts about returning to elite racing next year, despite a horrific accident which left him lucky to be alive.

The Brazilian said he was soon having another operation to implant a titanium infused plate into his head, so that next season he will be ready to race again for Ferrari.’Actually, I am OK. The only problem is I need surgery to close a bone in my head that they had taken away because it was completely damaged,’ the 28-year-old said in an interview with the Guardian.’A normal guy can live like this without any problem. But for a driver, if you have an accident and you have this problem, the recovery is more difficult,’ he told the London-based newspaper.’I’m going to Europe to use the simulator and drive some go-karts and then I will know very well if I’m 100 percent.’Despite his steely determination to return to Formula One, Massa is acutely aware of how lucky he was to survive the July crash in Budapest while qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.Massa suffered severe head injuries when he was struck at around 250 kph by a spring that flew off compatriot Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn car.’You need to think about luck in different ways,’ Massa said.Massa also believes that safety improvements are needed in the wake of his accident and the death days earlier of British driver Henry Surtees, when a tyre flew off a Formula Two car, striking him in the head.’We need to look for improvements. I’m not saying we need to cover (the cockpit) completely. But maybe there are some other things we can do to the car to stop a wheel hitting your head,’ he said.’When I come back this is something I want to discuss with Charlie Whiting (Formula One’s race director), the FIA and the drivers – because we all need to work together.’ – Nampa-Reuters