Ex-Formula 1 champ looks unrecognisable in operating theatre as he considers ‘exciting’ new career as brain surgeon

A FORMER Formula One world champion has set himself on the path of a stunning career change.

The retired driver looked unrecognisable in medical scrubs as he joined surgeons at the Municipal Clinic in Karlsruhe, Germany.

The 35-year-old accepted an invitation from Head of Neurosurgery Uwe Spetzger to become a “brain surgeon for a day”.

Special guests can be part of a once-a-month opportunity to be given an insight into the work of surgeons at the clinic.

“I’m just looking anyway,” joked the Red Bull legend to German outlet Neueste Nachrichten during his visit.

But Spetzger insisted “Anyone who can see Grey’s Anatomy can stand it”, before the trainees headed in to view the procedures.

Donning his blue overalls, the F1 icon can be revealed as Sebastian Vettel.

For his day as a trainee, the four-time world champion was privy to two operations.

The first was to remove a cyst caused by a brain tumour on a patient, while the second was for a broken disc from the cervical spine to be replaced with a small titanium cage.

Vettel retired from the sport last season to spend more time with his family.

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However, after spending three hours in the operating room, he noticed the similarities between the work of a surgeon and a racing driver.

He said: “You need to have confidence in yourself and your craft and enjoy your job. With that comes the accuracy and the will to get better.

“Unfortunately, this is often underestimated. In sport, as in life, it always takes more than one person.”

Asked whether he could take up the gig full-time, he laughed: “Of course, the craft is very, very exciting. But I would have to sit on the bench for too long and learn.”

Despite leaving the sport behind, Vettel remains one of the most accomplished drivers to get behind the wheel in the modern era.

And it has been announced he will soon be back in familiar territory when he gets behind the wheel of his 2011 title winning RB7 at the Nurburgring Nordschleife in a special event later this year.

Daniel Ricciardo will also partner up with Vettel for the special event.

The last driver to run an F1 car around the circuit, dubbed “the world’s most dangerous racetrack”, was seven-time F1 champ Michael Schumacher in 2013.

Schumacher’s son and current Mercedes reserve driver Mick will be driving another of his father’s old cars – the Mercedes W02 – at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next month.

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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk