However, it’s been anything but a simple recovery for the three-time world champion who now endures six hours of daily training with two full-time trainers at his side.

“I knew it would be hard, very hard,” he said, speaking from his home in Ibiza where he will spend the holidays.

“In such conditions I could only do one thing: fight. I did it for every moment, I’m still doing it.

“Being within my walls is something else. The air here is cleaner, the climate is not as bad as in Austria.

“In a month, they told me, I should be fully fit and ready to start again. I’ll follow the grands prix as before. Why not?”

See you on the grid in Melbourne, Niki! 

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

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