Felipe Massa's condition improves in hospital

Felipe Massa is carried out of his Ferrari after crashing during qualifying for the Hungarian grand prix. Photograph: Tamas Kovacs/AP

Felipe Massa can now communicate "actively" and is able to move his hands and legs, a Hungarian Defence Ministry spokesman said today. The Brazilian, who fractured his skull in an accident during qualifying for the Hungarian grand prix on Saturday and is being treated by military hospital doctors, is now waking up from sedation increasingly frequently.

Istvan Bocskai told Hungarian television that Massa, whose wife is expecting their first child, spent the night calmly and an ultrasound examination carried out in the past hours was "reassuring". "He's woken up [from sedation] more and more often now and he's able to communicate actively, that is, he reacts when he's talked to. We are optimistic, in our hope a slow recovery is beginning."

Bocskai said Massa could move his hands and legs, showing signs that his brain may not have suffered permanent damage. Ferrari's president Luca di Montezemolo will fly to Hungary today to be at the Massa's bedside.

Last year's championship runner-up was flown to hospital after being hit on the head by a bouncing spring, weighing almost a kilo, that broke free from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car. A Defence Ministry official had said on Saturday the driver had been in a "serious, life-threatening condition" before an emergency operation.

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