Massa's road to recovery

Felipe Massa's horrifying accident was one of 2009's darkest moments, but the Brazilian rapidly regained fitness - and could come back stronger than ever next year, as Adam Cooper explains

There's little doubt that Felipe Massa's accident at the Hungaroring in July was the low point of the 2009 season. It was a stark reminder that for all the safety improvements that the FIA and the teams had brought in since the nightmare 1994 season, any racing driver is still exposed to danger.

It was truly a chance in a million accident, and while fate decreed that Felipe was in the wrong place at the wrong time, it also gave him a lucky break. He was on an in-lap at the time, and he had his head tilted slightly to the right, looking in his mirrors. Thus the left side of his helmet was struck. In other words, the impact could have been a lot worse.

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