Wurz Involved in SARS Health Scare

McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz has revealed he was involved in a health scare when he spent a day in hospital following the Malaysian Grand Prix in Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago.

The Austrian was admitted to hospital after returning from Kuala Lumpur but fears he had caught the deadly SARS - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - pneumonia virus were eased after 24 hours in quarantine.

SARS is said to be more infectious than the Ebola virus that ravaged parts of Africa. The mysterious pneumonia has spread rapidly, killing 61 people from Canada to southern China, where it is thought to have originated. The World Health Organisation said 1,550 people in 15 countries have tested positive for the virus.

Wurz, who has watched teammates David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen win the opening two Grands Prix of the season, said: "When I came home to Monaco I was really ill. My physician heard I had been to Malaysia and sent me to hospital.

"They tested me accurately and immediately and I was put into quarantine. I was in hospital for 24 hours until the most important blood tests were done and I was totally clear," he told the Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

"I was put in my own area with my own ventilation system and video-supervised. I knew it could not be SARS because Malaysia is not one of the risk zones, but nevertheless I was considered as a danger to the public. I was one of seven cases in France."

Wurz will travel to Sao Paulo for the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend and insists he wants to help the McLaren team build on an impressive start to the season.

"I intend to fly to Sao Paulo on Wednesday," Wurz added. "We are naturally all very happy and we're also really fast in running. But we will keep our feet on the ground, Ferrari will come back, and there is still a lot of work for us."