Sky F1’s Natalie Pinkham has confirmed that she will return to presenting duties at the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix having been given “the all clear” following neck surgery last year.
Pinkham has been a fixture of Sky F1’s television coverage since the broadcaster secured the live Formula 1 broadcast rights in the United Kingdom and Ireland ahead of the 2012 season.
Natalie Pinkham to make Sky F1 return at Japanese Grand Prix
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The 48-year-old has not attended a race since the Italian Grand Prix at Monza last September, after which Pinkham revealed that she would “be out of action for a bit” following a procedure on her neck.
As reported at the time by PlanetF1.com, Pinkham had originally targeted a return at the Brazilian Grand Prix in November.
However, she was forced to cancel her trip to Sao Paulo days ahead of the race after her recovery proved “trickier than expected.”
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Sky F1 was forced into a last-minute change of plan at Interlagos as a result, with regular presenter Simon Lazenby – who had originally been scheduled to miss the Brazilian Grand Prix – flying into Sao Paulo to lead the broadcaster’s coverage midway through the race weekend.
In a clip posted to social media, Pinkham has revealed that she has now been given “the all clear” to make long-haul flights again with her first appearance of the F1 2026 season set to come in Japan later this month.
She said: “Hi friends.
“So, it has been a long, and if I’m completely honest, quite difficult five months of rehab since my neck surgery, but I’m really happy to say that I have been given the all clear to do long hauls again.
“My first [race] that I will be presenting for Sky F1 this year is Japan. And I am really happy about that because I bloody love Suzuka, so very excited to see you then.
“And it will be the first time that the ‘Karen cage’, the bit of metal work at the back of my neck, is going to the other side of the world – [it’s] called Karen because she moans a lot.”
During her recovery, Pinkham invited fans to come up with a name for the scar on her neck, with ‘Sabrina Scar-penter’ and ‘O-scar Piastri’ among the contenders.
She went on to reveal that the winning suggestion was ‘Scarlos Sainz’ in a nod to the Williams driver Carlos Sainz, who recorded a short video to confirm the news.
The winning fan, Chris Farrow, is to receive signed Williams F1 team merchandise.
Pinkham’s post has been ‘liked’ more than 11,000 times at the time of writing with several fans sending their well wishes.
One wrote: “I cannot wait to have you back on our screens! So glad you are back and better.”
Another added: “Glad you’ve had a great recovery! Can’t wait to see you back at the tracks again soon.”
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