“Three days after the accident I felt my headache go away. By then, I had done all the scans in Spain, all the checks for my neck and head and everything that was affected by the impact, and we knew I didn't have any physical injuries. There were no injuries to the head, just a headache which was normal. If someone hits you on the head with a baseball bat I'm sure you would have a headache for three days at least!
“Already at the end of last week I was feeling back to normal and this week I have been able to do normal physical preparation, if anything a bit tougher, just to test the body and make sure that there are no headaches or effects from the impact.
“I've felt very happy all the way through the weekend here, and the most important thing is that arriving here I knew I wouldn't have any problem passing the medical because I felt 100 per cent fit. I would have not turned up here if I didn't think I was in full health and fitness.
“I am very pleased to be here, and the fact that I didn't get any physical injuries in the accident really shows what the
FIA has done in the past [and] how they have improved safety. All I have to do is thank those people who have been putting their effort into work on that. Having said that, there is still more to do and I think everybody should look into that more and more.”
There was praise for Kovalainen, meanwhile, from
McLaren team principal Ron Dennis and the Woking-based concern's team doctor Aki Hintsa, with the former describing his young charge's recovery as ‘remarkable'.
“I'm extremely pleased and extremely happy but not extremely surprised,” added Hintsa. “Sometimes something like this can give you a kick – it's all about turning the event into positive energy.”
Kovalainen admitted that he had been just a little bit tentative during his first few laps in the car during Friday practice, but if he had any fear he certainly did not let it show as he immediately lapped a strong second-quickest in the morning practice session – before going on to repeat that feat a day later in qualifying.
