Massa to test F1 car

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa will continue his comeback to Formula One by testing a 2007-spec car at Fiorano in the near future.

A date has yet to be set for the test, but Massa is believed to be making good progress after suffering a severe head injury in qualifying for the Hungarian grand prix in August.

"I don't know yet [when the test will be]," said Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali. "We will decide this week because Felipe will come to Maranello on Monday.”

“He will stay with the team this week, he will go and do some training in the simulator, physical training in Maranello, and then we will decide when to do this. Also, because it is compulsory, he has to do an FIA medical check before doing something. This is something we will decide this week.

"What I can say is that it is not planned to do any driving in Brazil. For Abu Dhabi it is very, very unlikely. The main target is Bahrain next year."

Michael Schumacher took part in a similar test earlier this year before his comeback was aborted due to a neck injury.

“Our main target is to make sure Felipe is OK from the physical point of view, as it was for Michael Schumacher in the early summer," said Domenicali.

"We asked the FIA to make sure that the there is no breach of any kind of sporting or testing regulation and this gave us the clearance for this kind of test. It means that when we are ready we will do a test at Fiorano with an F2007 historical car with no changes. Just the customer car and GP2 tyres.

"It is order to have a fit and see how it is from his medical point of view, this is why we have asked the FIA medical delegate to be there. But it is not really a test. It is to see how his body reacts to driving a Formula 1 car, even if is not up-to-date. That is not what we care about, it is to give him an indication how the recovery is going.

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