Sep.9 (GMM) Following his high speed crash during Saturday practice at Monza, Kimi Raikkonen awoke on Sunday morning for the Italian grand prix with a very sore and stiff neck.

The Finn had a check-up in the circuit medical centre here directly after the incident, where FIA medical boss Dr Gary Hartstein cleared him to qualify.

"He is okay," Hartstein said in the paddock on Saturday.

Raikkonen, 28, was just fifth quickest, and apparently confided to some friends in the Finnish press that he was suffering with some neck pain throughout the qualifying session.

Spanish newspaper 'As' says the Ferrari driver's pain increased throughout the evening, and he arrived at the circuit on Sunday barely able to move his head from side to side.

It is not believed that the muscle soreness will cause him to sit out the race, but Raikkonen told the Swiss newspaper Blick: "My neck does hurt quite a lot and it is completely stiff. I can hardly move.

"But it's nothing really bad or anything and I look forward to the race."