Michael Schumacher is not ruling out the possibility of standing in for injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.

The Brazilian fractured his skull in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying and may be out for the rest of the year, while Schumacher, 40, is a Ferrari adviser.

"The whole thing will be considered by Ferrari. If they approach Michael, then he will consider it," the seven-time champion's spokeswoman told BBC Sport.

"But there is no reason for him to step into their discussion."

Schumacher, who retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 2006 season, told the BBC in an interview at the German Grand Prix two weeks ago that he was not interested in returning to F1.

However, his spokeswoman Sabine Kehm said that was a reference to a permanent return.

"Usually, I would say he's not interested because he's fine with his life and he doesn't miss anything but now the situation is so different - it's very hypothetical - and Michael doesn't want to step into that [discussion]," she stated.

She added that Schumacher still trained every day but that she did not know whether he was fit enough to race an F1 car again.

"Michael had a motorcycle accident in February when he had a neck problem - and I really can't tell you if his neck would be fine to drive an F1 race," she said.

"If Ferrari asked him whether he would consider driving, he would have it checked - and remember he is a 40-year-old man, too." 

Felipe Massa has been taken out of an artificially-induced coma as his recovery continues, doctors told reporters in Budapest on Monday evening. The injured Ferrari driver has also been able to speak with family and medical staff.

"His condition has improved significantly over the last 24 hours and he remains stable," Lajos Zsiros, chief surgeon of the Hungarian defence forces told a press conference. "We have ended sedation and taken him off the respirator.”

Massa suffered a fractured skull during Saturday’s qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, after being hit by a spring from another car. He was flown from the Hungaroring circuit to the AEK military hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.

"He is still sleepy, but has been able to reply to questions and has been able to move his limbs adequately," continued Zsiros, who went on to explain that it was likely to be at least a week before doctors could be sure that Massa has avoided lasting injury, though he stressed that a full recovery was possible.

Responding to reports of potential damage to Massa’s left eye, Zsiros said it was too soon to confirm or deny this as the Brazilian is not yet able to open the eye sufficiently to allow for his vision to be examined. This should change over the next few days.

Massa will remain in intensive care, though doctors have no plans for further sedation and his condition is expected to continue to improve. His wife, his parents, his brother and his friend and manager Nicolas Todt spent Monday night at the hospital, where they will meet Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali on Tuesday.

Doctors at the AEK military hospital in Budapest are reporting that Felipe Massa is continuing to make progress after the head injuries he suffered when he was hit on the helmet by an errant spring during Saturday’s qualifying session for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

However, they have warned that it is still far too early to predict whether he will make a full recovery.

Hungarian defence ministry spokesman Istvan Bocskai said this morning (Monday) that the doctors have been reassured by Massa’s recovery so far, as he has moved his hands and legs and recognised faces when brought out of the coma into which he was placed after emergency surgery on Saturday afternoon to remove broken bones from his skull.

However, the hospital’s medical director Peter Bazso cautioned yesterday that the 28-year-old driver is in an acute phase, saying “what can come next, we don’t know”.

FIA medical delegate Gary Hartstein concurs with this sentiment, telling Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper that “it may be weeks, if not months before we know for sure how Felipe is recovering”.

Among the encouraging signs, though, Bocskai told Hungarian television that Massa “has woken [from sedation] more and more often and is able to communicate passively, in that he reacts when he’s talked to, which is certainly a good sign.

“We are optimistic that a slow recovery is beginning.”

Bocskai added: “Every single moment is important now.

“The doctors and nurses who are taking care of him are doing everything possible to help his recovery. He is in good hands.

“The hospital he is in has all the necessary diagnostic tools. It’s probably one of the most up-to-date hospitals in Europe.”

Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo is flying to Budapest today to be at Massa’s bedside.

Bernie Ecclestone and Rubens Barrichello have both visited the Brazilian in hospital and Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali spent much of Saturday afternoon and Sunday with his driver.

Kimi Raikkonen was pleased to give Ferrari something positive to take away from a harrowing Hungarian Grand Prix weekend after scoring the team’s best result of the season with a fine runner-up finish.

The Maranello squad’s race was always going to be overshadowed by thoughts of Felipe Massa recovering from head injuries in an intensive care unit after his freak accident in qualifying, but Raikkonen did his best to lift spirits with a strong performance.

The Finn used his KERS power to full effect to climb from seventh on the grid to fourth on the opening lap, moved up to third when the light-fuelled Fernando Alonso fell out of the reckoning and then leapfrogged Mark Webber’s Red Bull at the first pit stops.

Raikkonen, who pulled away from Webber when the Australian was struggling on the harder tyres and comfortably kept him at bay in the closing stages, said his lightning start had been crucial.

“I got a very good start and that definitely helped,” he said.

“We knew before the race that we needed to gain some places at the start to be able to fight for the podium.

“I think I was fourth behind Lewis [Hamilton] after the first few corners, then he overtook Mark and I could follow Mark.

“We took our first pit stops at the same time and I passed him during the stop.

“After that I was driving my own race, trying to catch up to Lewis.

“I thought I had the speed to do that at one point, but then suddenly he started to go at the same speed and then a little bit faster so the gap stayed more or less stable.

“Then I had some issues on the last pit stop that didn’t help either.”

Raikkonen said Ferrari’s pace had been a pleasant surprise, and hoped the result would bring some solace to the team after the shock of Massa’s crash.

“We had a good race - we know it’s difficult to challenge for the win right now, but we were probably closer than we expected,” he said.

“It was not an easy weekend for the team but we’ve got a good result so hopefully we can keep going like this.

“At least it’s something positive this weekend for the team.”

Felipe Massa faced the media this afternoon in the nicely cool Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro motorhome, given that outside the air temperature was up in the high thirties, here at the Hungaroring, a few miles outside the city of Budapest. For once, the first question was not about Felipe or his team, but what the fact that Mark Webber finally took his first F1 win a fortnight ago might do to his career.

“After my first win, it made me a lot stronger, a lot more mature and more wins came almost straight away. Something definitely changed for me and you feel a lot better, knowing you can win, especially if it is a deserved win, not a victory taken because someone in front of you has retired. Starting from pole and winning a race makes you believe you are big driver.”

Onto his views of this circuit, Massa described it as tricky. “It is very technical and one of the hardest things here is to keep the tyres working and in good shape. It is very easy to get graining on them, as we have very soft compounds here and the track temperature is very high. I am sure tyre performance will have a very big effect on the result of Sunday’s race. So it will be important to have our car set up in a way that helps to look after the tyres.”

Felipe took the Scuderia’s second podium of the season in Germany a fortnight ago and he was asked if this weekend could see him climb up a couple of steps to drink the winner’s champagne. “Our car was very competitive in Germany,” agreed Felipe. “I started with a very heavy car when others were quicker than me, but as the race went on, I was able to run at a pace faster than some of the cars ahead of me. For example, Vettel who has a very good car and when he was running lighter than me, could still not stay with me. So, I think maybe this can be a good weekend for us in terms of tyre useage. But it is too early in the weekend to predict what might happen.”

There’s a new driver here for the first time, as Jaime Alguersuari prepares to become the youngest ever driver to start in F1. The 19 year old Spaniard, who qualifies for a superlicense by winning last year’s British F3 series replaces Bourdais at Toro Rosso. Because of the testing ban, he will be driving an F1 car with other cars around him on track for the first time tomorrow. This was Massa’s opinion on the situation. “For me, he’s too young. When I arrived in F1, I was also young, just a year older than him. I did not know what to expect from the car and I made mistakes. It was not easy for me, but the difference is that even if it was not easy for me, at least I had spent the winter doing lots of testing, but he does not have this experience. I don’t think it is good for him.”

Source: F1Technical.net

Kimi Raikkonen was in the FIA Press Conference this afternoon and the first question he faced did not have anything to do with this weekend, but was aimed at a completely different event he will tackle in the summer break, namely the world championship Rally of Finland, better known as “The Thousand Lakes.”

“I think it will be a completely different thing to what I have done before, “ began Raikkonen. “I have done a few rallies but it is like club races compared to the Finland Rally. I will just go there and have fun and hopefully we are going to make it to the end and that would be nice.”

Back to his “day job” and Kimi explained what was different on the F60 for this weekend. “My car has some new stuff. A new front wing from what we had in the last race and we also have some new floor parts and a rear wing. Hopefully it will help us. This circuit is more like Monaco and the car seemed to be working pretty well there, so hopefully we can have a bit better weekend than the last one.” As to the Hungaroring itself, the Finn said he enjoyed the challenge. “It is quite a nice circuit. For driving it is quite a good challenge. It is not easy to get the car right here but for the racing it can easily get a bit boring. It is a bit more like Monaco though here it is slightly easier to overtake but you need to be quite a bit faster than the guy in front of you to get past him. We will see how it goes but it is a nice place to come.” After making the most of KERS at the start of the last race, the Ferrari man thinks it will also come in useful here. “If you get a good run out of the last corner, then definitely the KERS will help you. On the start it will help you as it is quite a long straight before the first corner. Sure we will find out some advantage with the KERS and anyhow with that we always seem to be faster, so for us it is only a good thing.”

As for ambitions for the rest of this tough season, Kimi was realistic about the team/’s potential. “I think the team target is to try to finish in third place in the championship. I think that’s what we’re aiming for. For myself, I will try to win as many points as I can, as many good results as we can and that’s all we can try to do.”

Source: f1technical.net

Welcome to the 10th round of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship, the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring near Budapest. After two cool races the question is how hot will it be at a venue that is traditionally warm and humid?

It will be at its warmest on Thursday when, despite partial cloud, the ambient temperature high will be 36 degrees Celsius. It will remain partially cloudy for the rest of the weekend, with the temperature drooping each respective day to 33, 27 and 26.

The 4.381-kilometre (2.722-mile) circuit remains unchanged bar additional conveyor belts that have been added to the tyres in Turns Five, Eight, and Nine, and a new debris fence on the wall to the right after Turn 14.

The race will run over 70 laps, or 306.458 kilometres (190.420 miles). It starts at 1400 hours local time, which is two hours ahead of GMT.

The line-up in full…

Thursday July 23, 1500 local time (1300 GMT):
Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) and Mark Webber (Red Bull).

Friday July 24, 1600 local time (1400 GMT):
Stefano Domenicali (Ferrari), Norbert Haug (Mercedes), Christian Horner (Red Bull) and Franz Tost (Toro Rosso).

The qualifying and post-race conferences with the top three drivers will take place immediately after the respective sessions.

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
2008 Qualifying - 6th, 2008 Race - 3rd
“Traditionally this is some sort of a home race for us Finns, because there are so many fellow countrymen on the grandstands. I’ll show up with a new rear wing, which worked really well on Felipe’s car and there’s the possibility that we’ll have further modifications. The F60 should run pretty well at the Hungaroring with its many slow corners; furthermore the temperatures should be slightly higher than at the weekend in Germany: it would be great to gain another podium.”

Felipe Massa, Ferrari
2008 Qualifying - 3rd, 2008 Race - 17th
“I haven’t got very good results at this race but that doesn’t mean I don’t race well there: if you remember last year I had the win in my pocket, but then my engine unfortunately let me down with just two laps to go. It’s a nice circuit to drive even if it’s not really one of my favourites, but ask me how we will get on in this race and to be honest I really don’t know. I hope we can carry on making improvements to our package, carrying on in the same direction as in Germany.”

Jean Todt has called for the FIA presidential race to take place in a dignified manner and not descend into a personal slanging match, after rival candidate Ari Vatanen’s claims over how the Frenchman’s campaign was being funded.

Vatanen, in quotes attributed to him in the media earlier this week, suggested former Ferrari team principal Todt was flying around the world with his actress girlfriend Michelle Yeoh on a private plane paid for by the FIA Foundation.

After the FIA Foundation expressed its anger at the comments on Wednesday, Todt has now issued his own statement in which he has called on all fellow candidates – of which Vatanen is currently his only rival – to conduct their campaigns in a fair way.

“We are three months away from the election of a new President of the FIA,” he said in the statement.

“This period gives the FIA membership an important opportunity before making their choice to reflect on the Federation’s achievements, its future goals and challenges.

“I would hope that all candidates will conduct their campaigns with dignity and avoid personalising the issues or engaging in the spreading of disparaging or false allegations.”

He added that he hoped campaigns would focus on the pressing issues and debates.

“In future I hope that all candidates can stick to the issues and respect the integrity of this democratic process,” Todt said.

Todt also praised Yeoh’s work in her position as an ambassador of the FIA Foundation's Make Roads Safe campaign.

“I am very proud of the voluntary work Michelle Yeoh has done as the global ambassador for the Make Roads Safe campaign," the Frenchman added.

“To gain an accurate insight into Michelle’s role I would encourage everyone to watch the film ‘Turning Point’ and see for themselves her contribution to improving global road safety.”

After World Rally legend and former MEP Vatanen confirmed he would be running for FIA president in the October elections on a reform agenda over the German Grand Prix weekend, Todt threw his hat into the ring last week following incumbent Max Mosley’s confirmation that he would not be seeking re-election.

In his letter confirming he would stand down after 16 years at the helm of the governing body, Mosley said Todt was the “ideal” successor and encouraged the FIA member clubs to vote for him.