Kovalainen cleared to race in Turkey

ISTANBUL, Turkey -- McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen has been given the all-clear to race in the Turkish Grand Prix after his high-speed crash in the previous round in Spain.

The 26-year-old was pronounced fit to drive after undergoing medical checks by the sport's governing body the FIA.

Kovalainen crashed into the tire wall in Barcelona at nearly 250 kph after a wheel rim failure caused a tire to explode on his McLaren.

The crash saw him detained in hospital overnight with slight injuries, including concussion.

"I arrived here today feeling confident that I would pass the FIA test as I feel 100 percent," Kovalainen told the Associated Press.

"If I had not felt 100 percent I would have told the team already and stayed at home."

Test driver Pedro de la Rosa would likely have filled Kovalainen's seat if he had been found unfit to race, but he is now free to line up alongside Lewis Hamilton as they bid to turn the tables on Ferrari.

Current world champion Kimi Raikkonen goes into Sunday's race at the Istanbul Speed Park circuit off the back of 1-2 sweeps for Ferrari in the previous two races.

Raikkonen has 29 points for a nine-point advantage over Hamilton in the overall championship standings. Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber is third with 19, one more than Ferrari number two Massa.

Ferrari lead the constructors' championship with 47 points ahead of BMW Sauber with 35 and McLaren on 34.

Rubens Barichello of Honda will become the most experienced racer in F1 history at Istanbul when the Brazilian lines up for his 257th grand prix.

The 35-year-old Barichello will pass Riccardo Patrese's 256 races, which was set in 1993 -- the same year Barichello first raced.

"(This) means a great deal to me," said Barichello, who has nine wins and 61 podiums. "I still feel young on that side. I think I have many more years left."

Formula One qualifying rules changed Thursday after the Super Aguri team withdrew from the Formula One championship.

With only 20 cars racing at Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix, race stewards decided five rather than six cars will be excluded after each of the first two parts of qualifying Saturday.

That will leave 10 cars to compete for the pole in the final 10-minute qualifying session.

The Super Aguri team pulled out of F1 on Tuesday due to financial difficulties.

The Japanese team, founded in 2005, had no points from four races this season.

Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.