Maylander fit and raring to race

The German Mercedes CLK ace, who also drives the safety car during grand prix weekends, suffered a pneumothoraxis - a condition where a small part of his lung burst open. Despite recent surgery to repair the damage, Maylander says he is ready to race this weekend.

"Of course, I am really looking forward to racing and I can hardly wait," he said. "The stitches are healing and that feels like you scrubbed your knee. And when you are sitting in the race car, you forget everything around you anyway. Too bad that I couldn't do any testing, but I still feel able to show a decent performance."

Maylander, who won the season finale at Hockenheim last year, has thanked first-rate medical treatment he received for his speedy recovery.

"We have done the maximum to speed up the recovery process," he said. "I also had the best possible circumstances with Tony Mathis, Mercedes-Benz's physiotherapist, and our competition doctor Markus Schmitt. Only two days after being released from hospital, I climbed up the mountains. This excellent medical treatment surely has added a lot to my quick recovery."