F1 PRESENTER Natalie Pinkham has returned to Sky Sports following a five-month absence.
Pinkham announced last year that she had undergone surgery on her neck after suffering a slipped disc – which impacted her left arm and spinal cord.
She missed the last part of the 2025 F1 season as a result but is now back in the paddock for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Sky Sports commentator David Croft welcomed his colleague back with a touching message on Instagram earlier this week.
Alongside a picture of himself and Pinkham at the airport, he wrote: “She’s back everyone!!
“It’s a welcome return to @natalie_pinkham – we’ve missed you Pinks and your 5-Star buggy service to the gate.”
Fans were also quick to welcome the presenter back, with one person commenting: “The F1 A team is back!”
Another said: “We missed you Natalie!”
While a third wrote: “Yesssss @natalie_pinkham can’t wait to see you back on my screen.”
Speaking to Planet F1 ahead of her TV return, Pinkham opened up about her injury, admitting: “I hadn’t stopped for 15 years. Even having kids, I was back after six weeks.
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“These last five months, it’s been a useful process for me.
“It was agony. A disc in my neck slipped. It was pressing not only against the nerves down my left arm but also my spinal cord.
“The doctors said, ‘You have to have that out. Now.’ They went in at the front, took the voice box out and moved the trachea and oesophagus.
“Then they took the disc out, fused the vertebrae together, put a little cage in to prop the neck back up and put me back together again.
“When they told me what they were going to do I was like: ‘Not a chance.’ They were like, ‘Hmm, you don’t really have a choice.’”
Mercedes currently lead the F1 team rankings after a strong start to the season, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli leading the driver standings.
