Ralf Still Hopeful of Fighting for Title

German Ralf Schumacher expressed his delight at being given the all-clear to race at Sunday's Italian Grand Prix and keep his faint title hopes alive - and even joked that doctors found a brain inside his head.

Schumacher crashed heavily in testing at Monza nine days ago and spent an evening in hospital in Milan undergoing checks after he was knocked unconscious in the impact. But his Williams team confirmed that he will take to the track in Friday's practice and qualifying sessions after a pre-race medical check up with the FIA medical delegate Professor Sid Watkins.

"Ralf went for checks in Salzburg on Wednesday and brought all the papers with him to the track today," said a team spokesperson. "He saw Sid and was asked a few questions and Sid basically said he was fine."

The Williams driver is 14 points behind his Championship-leading brother Michael, who drives for Ferrari, with 30 points left to claim from the season's remaining three races.

"I had an X-ray on Wednesday and it was okay," he said. "They found my brain in there, it was a bit small but they found it! I suffered headaches for the first two days after the crash but then it was no problem. The accident doesn't bother me and my goal is to try and keep my slim chance in the Drivers' Championship alive."

Schumacher's return is also a boost for the team, who overtook World Champions Ferrari by eight points in the Constructors' Championship at the last race in Hungary. They have rocketed up the Championship table after claiming 94 points from a possible 126 in the last seven races with Schumacher and Montoya taking two wins each.