Timo Glock declared fit after smash in Chinese GP

The German Timo Glock spoke of his relief after he escaped serious injury on Friday when his Marussia flew into a tyre wall during practice for the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

There were initial fears that the 30-year-old was badly hurt because of his slow response after the crash and he told the Marussia team that he had injured his hand.

But a team statement said that Glock was later declared fit to take part in Saturday qualifying.

"There is damage to the car, as you might expect from the impact, but it is mainly cosmetic and the chassis is fine," he said.

"Personally I am fine. I initially had some pain in my hand from the steering wheel when I hit the wall, but no lasting damage."

John Booth, Marussia team principal, said: "First and foremost, we are obviously relieved that Timo seems to be fine.

"The next significant point is that we have clearly identified that the cause of the incident was not of a mechanical nature."