By Jamie Makin (6/2/2004)
February 6 2004

Following a high speed crash into the tyre barrier during testing at Catalunya Wednesday, Felipe Massa was taken to a local hospital as a precautionary measure. On Thursday he was released and given the green light to resume driving. He will continue testing the Sauber C23 at Jerez next Tuesday. Massa became a passenger when the front right suspension on his car failed under braking into turn one of the Catalunya circuit. Despite rumours from the media that he lost consciousness, Massa insists that he suffered no ill effects from the crash. "It spun several times and hit the barriers hard. I called the team by radio, got out of the cockpit, took my helmet off and waited for the rescue [team]." Massa said. He also reported that he feels fine today, and is not suffereing from any lingering pain from the crash.

The car (chassis C23-02) has been returned to the Sauber factory in Hinwil to inspect the damage and determine the cause for the failure so that it may be prevented from happening again. It is suspected to be in relatively good shape, which would mean the team could repair it instead of having to write it off.

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