Ferrari driver Felipe Massa has damaged his skull and will need surgery after his car slammed into a wall during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, AP reported.
His team said Saturday the 28-year-old Brazilian was airlifted to a hospital and will remain under observation in intensive care following the operation.
The team said Massa's condition was stable, and that he was conscious when he arrived at the hospital.
The crash occurred after a spring had fallen off another car and flew up and struck Massa in the helmet. An apparently dazed Massa continued driving over a curb and across the track. He went through the gravel area alongside the circuit before striking the tire barrier.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - Ferrari driver Felipe Massa slammed into a wall during qualifying for Formula One's Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday and was airlifted to a hospital. His team said he was in stable condition.
The Brazilian driver was conscious and moving his arms before being evacuated from the Hungaroring's medical center by helicopter, where he was expected to be kept for observation.
A spring that had fallen off Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP car flew up and struck Massa in the helmet, apparently dazing him as the Ferrari continued straight through a curb, across the track and through the gravel area alongside the circuit before slamming into a row of protective tires that line the circuit wall.
"Felipe was just very unlucky," teammate Kimi Raikkonen said. "It was just an unlucky situation."
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali told Italian TV that Massa would not race Sunday.
Barrichello, a fellow Brazilian, went to the medical center to check on Massa's condition and said the Ferrari driver appeared to be doing fine.
"He was very agitated," Barrichello told Brazil's Globo TV. "He had a cut in his head, which could have been from the part of my car that was on the track. He was talking, was conscious, but they have to analyze the cut."
Massa appeared to regain control of the car just before the crash at turn No. 4 as his front brakes were locked upon the violent impact.
The 28-year-old Massa stayed in the car for a considerable time and it was unclear whether he required assistance in getting out, before he was taken away on a stretcher.
The front of his Ferrari was shredded, with both tires having come off and the front nose open.
The crash comes less than a week after Henry Surtees, the son of former Formula One champion John Surtees, died in an F2 race. Surtees was struck by a tire from another car, causing him to lose consciousness and drive into a barrier.
The crash was also reminiscent of Heikki Kovalainen's high-speed crash at last year's Spanish GP, when the McLaren driver slammed directly into a wall at high speed. Kovalainen spent the night in a hospital with only a concussion.
Qualifying for Sunday's race was delayed about 20 minutes by the crash.