Injured F1 racer Massa due back in Brazil

Formula One driver Felipe Massa was due back in his native Brazil late Monday for recovery at home after being treated in Hungary for serious head injuries sustained from a June 25 racing accident.

The 28-year-old was being flown back on a private jet accompanied by wife Rafaela and his doctor, Dino Altman.

An AFP photographer saw the aircraft leave Budapest early Monday. It was to make a stopover in Dakar, Senegal, before flying on to Sao Paulo.

Massa's spokesman in Brazil told AFP the Ferrari driver was to be taken to the Albert Einstein Hospital in the Brazilian city.

Massa's father, Luiz Antonio Massa, said his son would just undergo check-ups at the hospital but would not be admitted for a lengthy stay, and he would return to his Sao Paulo home for convalescence.

The Brazilian driver was struck by a suspension spring which had worked its way off Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP, resulting in Massa crashing his Ferrari into a tire barrier in qualifying in Budapest on June 25.

He underwent emergency surgery in Budapest's AEK hospital for a fractured skull, but within days was able to get up and walk around. His doctors said his condition was improving.

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher has agreed to return from retirement to fill in for his friend at Ferrari, starting with the European Grand Prix in Valencia on August 23.

Ferrari conducted an interview with him in the Budapest hospital before his release and made it available to media.

Asked about the accident, Massa said he did not remember anything.

"I know that something happened to me, but I didn't feel anything when it happened. They told me that I lost consciousness at the moment of the spring's impact on my helmet and I ran into the barriers, then I woke up in hospital two days later," he said.

He added that he was feeling better and "I want to recover as soon as possible to get back behind the wheel of a Ferrari."

As soon as he returned to Brazil, he said, "I want to get back to a normal life. I want to get back into the best possible condition, doing things you do every day."