Ferrari issued another update on Felipe Massa's condition last night, reporting that he had undergone surgery and that the "procedure was positive", adding that he would now remain in under observation. Meanwhile team mate Kimi Raikkonen will start from seventh on the grid for this afternoon's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The latest statement, which was released by Ferrari last night, read that: "Felipe Massa has undergone surgery this afternoon at the AEK hospital in Budapest and the outcome of the procedure was positive. Now, Felipe will remain under observation in intensive care. An update on his condition will be issued late tomorrow morning."

Massa’s accident overshadowed yesterday’s events in Budapest, however, the qualifying session still involved Raikkonen and there was a surprise pole winner. Naturally, the start of Q3 was delayed after Massa’s accident and there was confusion towards the end, when the official timing screens went blank not once but twice in the final minutes. This meant that while the drivers knew what their own times were, seeing them on their on-board display, they did not know where they were on the grid.

In the end, it was Renault’s Fernando Alonso who secured pole position, his first of the season and 18th of his career. Making it a Renault one-two-three, the two Red Bull Renaults were next quickest, Sebastian Vettel ahead of Mark Webber. Joining the Australian on the outside of Row 2 is the McLaren-Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, while row three is made up of Nick Rosberg in the Williams and Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren. Raikkonen qualified seventh for Scuderia Ferrari and has world championship leader Jenson Button in the Brawn on his outside on row four.