Injured Sky F1 presenter spotted on live TV with axed driver during Brazilian GP weekend

Injured Sky Sports presenter Natalie Pinkham has been spotted on live TV with axed F1 star Daniel Ricciardo during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.

Pinkham has been an integral part of the Sky F1 team since the UK broadcaster earned the rights to the sport's coverage in 2012, but had to pull out of her presenting role in Sao Paulo this weekend having recently undergone surgery.

The 48-year-old was set to join her Sky F1 colleagues for the Brazilian sprint weekend but took to social media on Thursday to share that her recovery from an anterior discectomy was proving 'trickier' than initially expected.

"Hello friends… I had hoped to be on a flight to Brazil yesterday, but the last couple of months have been trickier than I expected following neck surgery; and I am not there just yet….Huge thanks to the Sky F1 team and the wider company for their incredible support," she wrote.

Speaking recently on The Midpoint Podcast with fellow sports presenter Gabby Logan, Pinkham provided further detail on the gruelling surgery, saying: "I did have degenerative discs in my neck. So what they've done is an anterior discectomy…they have to actually take your voice box out…you have to sign something to say you might lose your voice!"

The Sky Sports team were able to pull presenting talent from their rotating broadcast lineup to replace Pinkham in the last-minute change to their F1 proceedings, with Pinkham remaining in the UK where she was spotted ahead of Sunday's race on Sky's Premier League coverage with none other than ex-F1 star Ricciardo.

Ricciardo back on Sky Sports screens

While many sports fans were preparing to tune into Sky F1 in the run up to Sunday's Brazilian GP, Ricciardo made a surprise appearance on TV screens across the UK after being spotted in the crowd of the afternoon's Brentford vs Newcastle game.

The now retired F1 driver could be seen chatting away with Pinkham and her husband Owain Walbyoff in the stands of Brentford's home, the Gtech Community Stadium.

Pinkham has spoken openly about her kinship to the Aussie star and how their entry to the sport at the same time led to a great friendship, with Ricciardo even putting in so much effort with her family outside of F1 that she made him Godfather to her son.

Ricciardo has not appeared on screen with Sky Sports since his last F1 race at the 2024 Singapore GP, and shortly after being spotted, Sky's official F1 account shared a rare video of the 36-year-old on social media.

A video of Ricciardo was shared where the eight-time grand prix winner was once again deep in conversation, with the accompanying caption: "Enchante Daniel," in a nod to the Australian's successful motorsport apparel brand.

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