McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen said he had no fears about returning to racing in next week's Turkish Grand Prix after his big crash in Spain last weekend.
"I want to get back to racing as soon as possible," the Finland driver said on Friday in a team preview. "Since the accident at Barcelona it has been my only focus.
"Everyone involved in the sport, the FIA in particular, is always working on improving safety for the drivers but Formula One is a risky business. You know that as a driver, but you don't think about it.
"If you worry about things like that, you lose focus. I guess it's just not in my psyche," said Kovalainen.
The 26-year-old was knocked unconscious in the crash at the Circuit de Catalunya last Sunday and spent the night in hospital under observation.
He said afterwards that he had no recollection of the accident, in which his McLaren penetrated the tire barrier at around 130 kph.
Kovalainen, who will have a mandatory fitness test in Istanbul before being cleared to race, said he was feeling better and the stiffness in his neck had almost gone.
The Finn said he had left Spain on Thursday and returned to Finland to resume training.
British teammate Lewis Hamilton will join him over the weekend for training.
"I can't wait to get back into the car and race with the team next weekend," said Kovalainen. "But at the end of the day that decision is out of my hands, the FIA will make it based on safety grounds only."
McLaren Chief Executive Martin Whitmarsh said the team would organize a full neurological examination for the driver before he left Finland.
He added that McLaren, which has Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa as reserve driver, had a plan in place should the FIA rule out Kovalainen's return in Istanbul.
If the Finn is cleared, he will race the team's spare car from Barcelona and a new spare would be sent to Turkey from McLaren's factory.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily May 4, 2008)