Ralf Battling to Get Fit for Monza

Ralf Schumacher will undergo a series of fitness tests tomorrow to determine whether he can make his Formula One return in testing at Monza on Wednesday.

German Schumacher has been sidelined since fracturing his back in a high-speed crash in the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis on June 20th.

Williams have pencilled in Schumacher to test for three days at Monza, which will host the Italian Grand Prix on September 12th, but the outcome of scans with his own doctors will decide whether he is fit enough to drive.

"He will go to his own doctors first. They will look at the MRI scans and decide for themselves - he's doing that on Tuesday," Williams technical director Sam Michael said at the Belgian Grand Prix.

"If he is okay on Tuesday, he will test in Monza on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Obviously if on Tuesday his doctors say he's not up to racing it won't go any further."

Schumacher must complete the Monza test if Formula One's medical delegate Professor Sid Watkins is to give him the all-clear to race in the Italian Grand Prix.

The German, who will leave Williams at the end of the season to join Toyota, is desperate to return after missing the last five Grands Prix. "There's no questioning his desire to get back in the car, it's just whether the doctors allow him," Michael added.

Mario Theissen, BMW's motorsport director, added: "I talked to him on Friday, he was very positive, he wants to get back in the car. He will have medical check and based on that, and Sid Watkins's view, as soon as he is approved he will go racing."

Spanish test driver Marc Gene deputised for Schumacher in France and Britain without scoring a point, before Brazilian tester Antonio Pizzonia scored four points from his three Grands Prix appearances.

Former World Champions Williams lie a disappointing fourth in the Constructors' Championship this season with 54 points after slipping behind Renault and BAR.