Former F1 driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen has posted an update from his hospital bed after recently undergoing back surgery in his native Germany.<\/p>\n
Frentzen made 156 F1 starts between 1994 and 2003, representing the Sauber, Williams, Jordan, Prost and Arrows teams.<\/p>\n
Heinz-Harald Frentzen posts from hospital after back surgery<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n He collected a total of three victories, enjoying his most successful season in 1997 when he finished second to Williams teammate Jacques Villeneuve in the drivers\u2019 standings.<\/p>\n In a post to mark his 59th birthday on Monday, Frentzen revealed that he recently underwent surgery on his back in his hometown of M\u00f6nchengladbach.<\/p>\n The former F1 star quipped that he received a \u201cbrand new disc\u201d as a birthday gift.<\/p>\n Frentzen\u2019s post was accompanied by a selfie of him lying on his back in a hospital bed and holding a thumbs up to the camera (top).<\/p>\n He wrote: \u201cHappy Birthday to me!<\/p>\n \u201cWoke up after back surgery to hundreds of birthday wishes \u2013 thanks so much!<\/p>\n \u201cGot myself a brand new disc as a birthday present this year. Feeling very blessed.<\/p>\n \u201cGreetings from M\u00f6nchengladbach.\u201d<\/p>\n Frentzen regularly offers his opinions on modern F1 via his social media channels, retaining an interest in the sport more than two decades after his retirement.<\/p>\n After Max Verstappen warned in March that he could quit over his unhappiness with the F1 2026 rules, Frentzen advised the four-time world champion to walk away<\/a> if he feels he is losing his focus.<\/p>\n Frentzen wrote: \u201cIf you lose your motivation in F1, it\u2019s better to quit, or at least take a break.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what I did. The sport is too dangerous if you lose your focus.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the news that F1 will revise the current 50:50 split between internal combustion and electrical power for 2027, he added: \u201cI\u2019m not against additional electrical power in general.<\/p>\n \u201cBut deliberately slowing down on straights just to charge the battery by sacrificing combustion engine acceleration makes no sense \u2013 neither ecologically nor in terms of efficiency.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be far more logical to recharge the battery during normal braking or manually while in a slipstream.<\/p>\n \u201cThat way you could carry less fuel from the start (lighter car more speed) and use it more efficiently during the race.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n