Chequered flag honour for Massa

Share

Felipe Massa will be in Brazil for his home grand prix on October 18 - as a special guest to wave the chequered flag.

Massa is currently on the road to recovery after requiring life-saving surgery towards the end of July following his accident in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

After completing two days in the Ferrari simulator this week, the 28-year-old is scheduled to drive a 2007-spec car on Monday after undergoing a medical check-up in Paris tomorrow, with the FIA in attendance.

Massa, who has not ruled out the prospect of driving in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 1, will then return to Brazil for the penultimate round on the calendar.

Massa will become the third celebrity to wave the chequered flag at Interlagos in the past eight years, following in the footsteps of Pele and model Gisele Bundchen.

Hopefully, Massa will at least have his eyes on the conclusion of what could be the title decider, unlike Pele, who famously failed to carry out his duty.

The world's most famous footballer was looking the other way when Michael Schumacher beat his brother Ralf by half a second in 2002.