Massa’s Ferrari team-mate Raikkonen took a similar stance to Webber, pointing out that open-cockpit cars inevitably expose drivers to some risk of head injuries.

“It was really a very, very unlucky situation where he [Massa] ended up,” said Raikkonen.

“As long as we race with open cockpits our heads are always in the worst place, the first place that’s going to be hit if something’s flying around.

“What happened was really unfortunate but luckily enough he’s more or less okay.

“He’s probably going to be a hundred percent fine in a little time.

“We in the team all hope that he’s going to be fine and come back soon.

“This is a part of racing and we all know that. It’s just a sad thing to happen.”

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh agreed that Massa was the victim of a rogue sequence of events, but insisted there must be no hint of complacency in the sport’s reaction to his accident.