Eye injury from crash puts Felipe Massa’s F1 future in doubt

Robert Veres, who operated on Massa, said that the 28-year-old had suffered damage to his left eye but didn't “know the quality of this damage”.

The doctor said he was likely to miss the rest of the season and added: “The immediate life-threatening condition has been averted but a complication could make it life-threatening again.

“Currently he is in a severe but not critical condition and he is stable.”

Hungarian Government spokesman Istvan Bocskai had earlier said that Massa spent the night calmly at the AEK Hospital in central Budapest and an ultrasound examination carried out today was “reassuring”.

He said: “Massa's waking up from sedation more and more often now and he's able to communicate actively, that is, he reacts when he's talked to. We are optimistic in our hope that a slow recovery is beginning.”

Massa's pregnant wife Raffaela, his parents Ana and Luis, and his brother Eduardo, flew in from Sao Paulo in Brazil to be at his bedside. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo flew to Hungary today.