According to ITV, Doctors at the AEK military hospital in Budapest are reporting that Felipe Massa is continuing to make progress after the head injuries he suffered when he was hit on the helmet by an errant spring during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. View Video of Felipe Massa Crash Here  

However, they have warned that it is still far too early to predict whether he will make a full recovery.

Hungarian defense ministry spokesman Istvan Bocskai said this morning (Monday) that the doctors have been reassured by Massa’s recovery so far, as he has moved his hands and legs and recognised faces when brought out of the coma into which he was placed after emergency surgery on Saturday afternoon to remove broken bones from his skull.

However, the hospital’s medical director Peter Bazso cautioned yesterday that the 28-year-old driver is in an acute phase, saying “what can come next, we don’t know”.

FIA medical delegate Gary Hartstein concurs with this sentiment, telling Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper that “it may be weeks, if not months before we know for sure how Felipe is recovering”.

Among the encouraging signs, though, Bocskai told Hungarian television that Massa “has woken [from sedation] more and more often and is able to communicate passively, in that he reacts when he’s talked to, which is certainly a good sign.

“We are optimistic that a slow recovery is beginning.”

Bocskai added: “Every single moment is important now.

“The doctors and nurses who are taking care of him are doing everything possible to help his recovery. He is in good hands.

“The hospital he is in has all the necessary diagnostic tools. It’s probably one of the most up-to-date hospitals in Europe.”

Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo is flying to Budapest today to be at Massa’s bedside.

Bernie Ecclestone and Rubens Barrichello have both visited the Brazilian in hospital and Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali spent much of Saturday afternoon and Sunday with his driver.