Ralf counts himself lucky

Schumacher was forced to miss six races after fracturing two vertebrae in the Indianapolis smash and suffering a severe concussion. The German made his comeback at the Chinese Grand Prix last month and was running in the top five before locking horns with McLaren's David Coulthard.

"When I watch TV, or see pictures of the accident, I feel like an uninvolved spectator," he told the Williams team website. "On the TV screen, the crash looks rather harmless. The camera was far away, and therefore it didn't look too dramatic. It was bad luck that I had a rear tyre puncture at that particular part of the circuit, but you may also call it luck that I'm sitting here today completely fit and healthy."

While he may have missed several months of track action, Schumacher resumed his fitness training two months ago to put him in good shape for Shanghai and the remaining two races of the season.

"For two months, I have been working on my fitness some four to six hours a day", he said. "Once, I even took a golf club and hit some balls. I felt no pain while swinging, therefore, I was rather buoyed. Anyway, I'm not the sort to complain, I have a high pain threshold, therefore, I wouldn't have said anything even if I had felt some pain."