Petrov now confident of fitness

Although the Russian was always confident he would be able to race in Montreal, he admitted the day after Monte Carlo that he was still in a lot of discomfort from his crash in the Swimming Pool section near the end of the race. Petrov initially feared he had broken a leg in the impact.

But he said he was now feeling a lot better and had no worries for Montreal.

"Physically I'm feeling fine with no problems," said Petrov. "I'm feeling better than I was after the race in Monaco. My ankle is fine and I don't see any problems for the race here in Canada."

He remains frustrated that the accident - which was a chain reaction tangle also involving Jaime Alguersuari, Lewis Hamilton and Adrian Sutil's slowing car - cost him a chance of at least a top six finish.

"Up until the incident, things were going really well, fantastically well in fact given what our qualifying positions were beforehand," said Petrov.

"We could have finished third or fourth I think. Third would have been a real push but fourth was not beyond possibility, because my pace was not bad and I managed to save the tyres.

"I had some bad luck and there was a lot of traffic in front of me. Pastor [Maldonado] and Adrian [Sutil] were both slow, and it was very difficult to overtake them. Everything else on the day was going to plan, so it's just a shame we could not have had more success with the final result."

Renault team boss Eric Boullier said the quick improvement in Petrov's condition had come as a relief after the accident.

"Firstly, I was relieved to learn that Vitaly had not broken or fractured anything after he was caught up in the crash," said Boullier.

"It was a worrying moment when it happened but we were glad to learn soon afterwards that there was nothing seriously wrong at all.

"After that, came the disappointment of missing a good opportunity to score points. Vitaly was in a strong position to finish in the top three or four so we view that as a missed opportunity, but we also need to work on our qualifying to give ourselves a better chance each Sunday afternoon."

Boullier added that the fact Petrov had no ill effects from his crash - and that Sergio Perez only sustained relatively minor injuries in his massive qualifying crash - was a vindication of Formula 1 car safety, though he backed calls for attention to some areas of the Monaco track.

"I can understand the views of some drivers when they see the dramatic crashes like we saw in Monaco," said Boullier.

"However, I think we need to keep a cool head on this issue. Our sport - in fact, any sport including speed - can be dangerous, and what has been impressive is that when there have been serious crashes, most drivers have emerged from the car without injuries.

"That, in itself, is a clear indication that our sport is quite safe. Formula 1 and the FIA have really raised their games in the last twelve months in terms of safety; there has been a lot of work on improving track design and car safety.

"I think that we now need to start working on more specific areas like the exit to the tunnel in Monaco. If we do this, there won't be so much drama in the future."