Felipe Massa will leave hospital on Monday and be flown home to his native Brazil, his personal doctor said on Friday.
Massa has been recovering in Budapest’s AEK military hospital since undergoing surgery on a fractured skull sustained in an accident at the Hungaroring last Saturday.
Massa’s physician Dino Altmann said the 28-year-old was continuing to make good progress and would return directly to Brazil rather than being transferred to the Pitié Salpêtrière hospital in Paris as had originally been envisaged.
“Felipe continues to improve, he is doing very well and we already decided to go back home on Monday,” Altmann told reporters.
“He will be transported in a private jet, probably to Sao Paolo.
“In Brazil, he will continue his recovery and will go back into racing as soon as possible.
“I think this decision says all you need to know [about his condition].”
Altmann would not estimate how long Massa’s recovery will take, but said the Brazilian driver was eager to return to the cockpit as soon as possible.
He previously disclosed that Massa has been in high spirits and even cracking jokes.
When told that Ferrari had asked Michael Schumacher to take over his seat while he recovers, Massa apparently retorted: “We’ll see if I let him drive my car!”
There were initially fears that Massa’s left eye had been damaged in the accident, but Altmann has repeatedly denied this and expressed confidence that the 2008 world championship runner-up will be able to race again.
Massa was hit in the helmet by a spring that had come adrift from the rear suspension of Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn car and bounced along the track.
He was travelling at 162mph at the time and lost consciousness immediately on impact, but his feet were resting on both the throttle and brake pedals as the car continued on its trajectory and struck the turn four barriers at 62mph.