"It would be good if, one day, the whole image came back into my head. I don't think I would have any problem with that but, at the moment, all that I can talk about is what I saw on the video.
"I've obviously seen the images, that the tyres were over me and that I sort of penetrated through the tyre wall, but I don't remember that moment. I remember being in intensive care in the hospital in the city, a lot of people around me. I was a bit confused as to what had happened, so I asked my team doctor ‘what are we doing here?' and he explained what happened. After that, the memory has been normal and I was aware of everything after that. That's where I got back on track.
"I have no idea about waving my hand but, as I said earlier, I never lost consciousness. I was awake all the time, assisting the people helping me, I told them to take my crash helmet off, I assisted them by telling them I had no injuries, that I was okay. It's just that the brain was confused and I didn't record anything on my hard drive, if you like. Then, when things calmed down a bit and the brain started working again - that was back in the hospital in the town - since then, it's all been okay. But it's good for you if I waved, and I guess I felt everything was fine."
As well as being able to see the accident on video after the event, Kovalainen also revealed that he had physical evidence of the impact.
"There are quite a lot of marks, but I think the helmet did its work," he revealed, "It took the impact very well and I didn't have any injuries to my head - that's the most important thing.
The Finn repeatedly praised the safety measures in place in
Formula One, although he did question whether the amount of time that it took to extract him from the car - caused by the tyre structure falling on top of the cockpit - could have been marginal in a more serious incident.
