Massa vows quick recovery as he returns to Brazil

The injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa has said that Michael Schumacher is the best person to replace him, but warned the seven-times world champion that he should not get too comfortable behind the wheel as he hopes to return to racing as soon as possible.

The Brazilian driver who received head injuries when he crashed during qualifying for the Hungarian grand prix was discharged from his Budapest hospital yesterday, accompanied by his wife, Raffaela, who is six months pregnant with their first child.

Schumacher had visited the Brazilian in hospital on Saturday. "Michael doesn't need my advice," said Massa of his longtime friend and mentor. "It was him who gave me many tips during my career when we were racing together. He knows how to win, he knows how to drive and he's great; it was the best choice handing over the car to such a fantastic person and I'm sure everybody will be happy to see him back on the track again. Although I hope I'll be back on the track with Ferrari as soon as possible."

Massa, who returned home to Sao Paulo on a private jet, said he was still trying to piece together the sequence of events that led to his freak accident nine days ago. Massa crashed after his Ferrari was hit by debris from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn-Mercedes.

"It is a strange feeling," he said. "I know exactly what happened, that a spring came off Rubens's car and hit me on the helmet. I knew that something had happened to me, but I did not feel anything when it happened. They told me I lost consciousness at the moment of the spring's impact on my helmet. Then I ran into the barriers, then I woke up in hospital two days later."

On arrival in Brazil Massa was admitted to Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein Hospital. He is expected to stay there for at least two days to undergo further tests. ·