MARANELLO, Italy — It was music to the ears of Ferrari tifosi: Felipe Massa, Ferrari's Formula 1 racing driver recuperating from injuries, got back into a single-seater at the Fiorano racetrack on Monday morning. "After today I can cancel the last 5 percent of doubt I still might have had" about a return to racing, Massa told journalists after the outing.
Massa drove a private F2007 with tires normally used for the GP2 series, the driver said on his Web site. He took the car out on the track in the rain as well as later in the day, when the track had dried, for a total of about 62 miles, with the aim to "regain confidence with his natural habitat: the racetrack."
Massa was injured at the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 25. He suffered a fractured skull after a spring from the car of Brawn driver Rubens Barrichello hit his helmet. He underwent surgery, then returned to his native Brazil to recuperate.
Ferrari says Massa is expected back in 2010, beginning with development work on the new Ferrari F1 single-seater alongside teammate Fernando Alonso.
Inside Line says: Great to see Massa get back up on the Prancing Horse. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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