Just a week after Henry Surtees's tragic death, European style open wheel racing has once again seen a freak accident involving something striking a driver in the head. This time though, it happens in its premier form of racing, Formula One.
During qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, a piece of suspension fell off the car of Rubens Barrichello. Unfortunately, that piece flew into the air and struck Ferrari's Felipe Massa in the head. Just like Surtees, Massa lost control, missed a corner, and hit the tire barrier. The good news is that Massa is alive and was conscious (and in the video, you can tell he was able to at least get on the brake). The bad news is he suffered bone damage to his skull and a brain concussion. Surgery is required and Massa will be in intensive care afterwards. (UPDATE: Massa's condition is described as "serious, life-threatning but stable")
The following is the video, which again shows what I just described. Viewer discretion advised.
After the Surtees tragedy, F1 Fanatic looked at the possibility of closed cockpits, and other potential safety measures could be proposed. However, I'm not sure what can be done really. As unfortunate as these two incidents have been, this isn't something that happens all the time. I can only remember two other incidents involving drivers getting hit by debris, and both were a while ago. Racing is inherently dangerous, and this is one of those risks. If any new safety measures can come out of this though, I'm all for it.
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