'Gladiator' Wilson drives on despite creeping paralysis

Justin Wilson was airlifted to hospital in Kuala Lumpur after his arms became paralysed during the Malaysian Grand Prix yesterday. The 24-year-old British driver, who was suffering from a trapped nerve, was stuck inside the cockpit of his Minardi for eight minutes after retiring from the 56-lap race with 15 laps left because of the extreme pain.

Wilson, driving in only his second grand prix, ran into problems when the Hans (head and neck support) safety device worked loose, making it much harder to control the car. He was taken to the circuit's medical centre with his right arm in a sling before being taken to hospital for a scan.

"He had no movement in his arm or shoulder, they were completely numb," said Minardi's team principal, Paul Stoddart. "He wasn't in a very good shape when he came in. That was a gladiator effort. He must have been in absolute agony, but he never came on the radio and said anything until he couldn't turn the wheel any more.

"When he came on the radio on his final lap, we heard the word 'steering' and thought he had a problem with that. Then we could hear him say, 'I can't turn the steering wheel'."

Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello was given special dispensation not to use Hans in yesterday's grand prix after blaming it for his crash in the opening race in Australia.