• Hungarian Grand Prix

Budapest 'important' to Massa

ESPNF1 Staff
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Felipe Massa missed the rest of the 2009 season following his accident at the Hungaroring © Getty Images
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Felipe Massa says that Budapest is a special place to him after the life-threatening crash he suffered at the Hungaroring in 2009.

During qualifying, a loose spring from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn struck Massa in the head at high speed, leaving him with a fractured skull. Massa had emergency surgery at the AEK Military Hospital in Budapest before making the majority of his recovery in Hungary, and he said that it had played an important role in allowing him to make a full recovery and return to racing.

"Clearly, after what happened two years ago, Budapest and the Hungarian people are an important part of my personal history and once again I plan to meet the people who helped me through that difficult time, both at the track and the hospital," Massa said.

"Since the accident, I have a lot of fans there: I don't think they became my fans because of the accident, but rather because I spent some time in Budapest and made a full recovery, which was like a victory for me and the people here felt part of that victory."

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