Ralf Heads to the US Unsure of Race Fitness

Ralf Schumacher will fly to Indianapolis on Monday morning still unsure whether he will be fit enough to race for Williams-BMW in this weekend's United States Grand Prix.

German Schumacher was pulled out of the Italian Grand Prix eight days ago after the Friday qualifying session when he complained of continued residual headaches from the heavy testing crash he had at the start of September.

He spent last week visiting his local hospital in Salzburg every day to discuss his condition with doctors in a bid to recover full fitness so he can help his team fight for championship glory in this weekend's race.

But his press officer Tomas Hoffman said: "You can never be sure 100 percent but he will drive on Friday and this time, hopefully, everything will be okay. He can't do more than he did at Monza.

"He has no more headaches. He has taken things really seriously and done nothing this week except go for checks with doctors at the hospital every day but he can only decide when he sits in the car."

Schumacher's hopes of staying in a four-way fight for the drivers' title were dashed when he pulled out of the Italian Grand Prix and his team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya is now just three points behind title race leader Michael Schumacher

But Ralf, who was replaced by test driver Marc Gene for the race at Monza, can still help Williams defend their four-point lead over Ferrari team in the constructors' championship if he returns.