LUCKY Felipe Massa has said he wants to be back behind the wheel in time for his home grand prix in just EIGHT weeks time.

The 28-year-old Brazilian - who fractured his skull and injured his left eye in a freak accident during qualifying for the Hungarian GP - has amazed doctors with his speedy recovery and is now pushing to get back in the cockpit of his Ferrari.

He said: "I cannot wait to race again, I hope I can do the Brazilian Grand Prix, but it's not for me to say, it's for the doctors, and I have to show I can be ready for the grand prix.

"I think I am going to do some laps in a go-kart beforehand, then I will go to the FIA to do the examinations and get the authorisation to come back to racing."

Massa - who will be replaced for today's European GP by test driver Luca Badoer - has said he has no memory of crash.

He added: "I lived the accident, but I slept, I didn't see the spring. Many people ask me, 'the spring came, did you not see it?' But I didn't see it hit me, I didn't see anything. The spring just hit my head and I slept.

"The car crashed and I carried on accelerating but it almost wasn't me that was doing it. It looks like I move my hands, but I was sleeping.

"When I woke in hospital, I felt that everything was working. I saw that my eye was really really big, but I was breathing and thinking. I could move my arms, I could move my legs, I could move everything."

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DRINKS ARE ON BRIATORE

RENAULT head honcho Flavio Briatore owes Christian Horner and Martin Whitmarsh a drink after they were among the team bosses who supported him against the proposed race ban in Valencia.

Renault were slapped with a one-race ban for the European GP after Hungarian Stewards found that they allowed Fernando Alonso to leave the pit with a loose wheel - but after appeal and with the support of four other teams the suspension was overturned and the Enstone-based team was ordered to pay a £30,000 fine instead.

Officials from Renault admitted unsafe conduct but argued there was no conscious wrongdoing on the team's part.

Renault also claimed the two crew members who dealt with Alonso's wheel were unable to inform the pit wall and the driver after he had left the garage.

The team said in a statement: "The ING Renault F1 Team welcomes the decision of the FIA's International Court of Appeal to lift the team's suspension from the European Grand Prix.

"The team accepts that the decision of the FIA to issue a reprimand and a £30,000 fine is fair and balanced."

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KIMI RUMOURS RALLY

FIAT DRIVER - Kimi Raikkonen

RUMOURS of Ferrari star Kimi Raikkonen quitting the sport at the end of the season just don't seem to go away and now paddock insiders are saying the ink is dry on a new FIAT WRC contract.

It is thought that car manufacturers Fiat and Volkswagen will enter the 2010 World Rally Championship to replace Subaru and Suzuki who pulled out at the end of last year - allowing Ferrari to terminate Raikkonen's contract and offer the Finn a factory drive with Fiat.

Raikkionen - who has competed in series of rallies in his spare time behind the wheel of his own S2000-spec Fiat Punto - is expected to lead the Fiat rally team and compete under the Abarth name.

The move would make room for Spanish Champ Fernando Alonso who has reportedly signed a five-year £175million deal from 2010.

Adding fuel to the fire, McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh admits that there will be 'changes, probably with Fernando and Ferrari, and that frees up the driver market'.

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VERMEULEN UNDER THREAT

THE FUTURE of MotoGP star Chris Vermeulen is now in doubt after Suzuki signed young Spaniard Alvaro Bautista for next season.

The move leaves Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi - who are both out of contract next year - fighting for the second spot on the factory team with Italian Capirossi hinting he is set to re-sign.

There's not much splitting the two in the championship standings with Capirossi in ninth place five points clear of Vermeulen in 10th, but the Italian dropped a hint that he will be continuing on at Suzuki next year when he said he is looking forward to working with Bautista.

He said: "I think the team has made a great choice to pick Alvaro because he is a very strong rider and I believe he will be very comfortable in the team.

"Everyone here is very relaxed and I am happy to be able to work with him."

An official announcement is expected before the end of the season, leaving Vermeulen with six races left to prove his worth.

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