01-Sep-09: Massa Unlikely to Return Until 2010

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Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 1st September 2009.

Ferrari have admitted that they do not expect Felipe Massa to return to race for them this season, but they are confident he’ll be back next year. Massa was in Miami for an examination by Dr Steve Olvey – who has been heavily involved with motorsport related recoveries. The outcome of the exam seems to suggest Massa will require a limited amount of plastic surgery, a small plate in the skull, and assuming that is successful, he will then be able to to start training again.

Ferrari issued a statement saying:  “Obviously the results of the examination have been warmly welcomed in Maranello, in the sense that the team can count on Felipe 100% for the start of next season.” Felipe says: “After the small operation I’ll undergo in the next few days, I’ll finally be able to start doing gym exercise to get back in shape a bit and, after that, I’ll be able to start doing some testing on karts.” He’s taking it one step at a time, though.

That’s it for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.