D’Ambrosio to do all of Barcelona test as Glock recovers from surgery

2011 F1 testing

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Jerome d'Ambrosio, Virgin, Barcelona, 2011

Jerome d’Ambrosio will drive in all four days of the Barcelona test for Virgin next week.

The team confirmed their rookie driver will do the entire test as team mate Timo Glock recovers from surgery.

Glock had his appendix removed yesterday.

The team do not expect Glock’s recovery will prevent him from competing in the first race of the season in Melbourne.

The Barcelona test begins on March 8th.

Update: Virgin team principal John Booth issued a statement:

“I can confirm that Timo had an operation yesterday to remove his appendix after a sudden case of appendicitis. The procedure was routine and Timo is recovering well in a Swiss hospital where he is likely to remain for a further 24 hours.

“To ensure a swift recovery, it is unlikely that he will take part in next week’s test in Barcelona and that Jerome will run on all four days instead, however, we will make a final decision early next week. We look forward to having Timo back with us very soon.”

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    25 comments on “D’Ambrosio to do all of Barcelona test as Glock recovers from surgery”

    1. Perhaps Glock is lucky Bahrain did not take place. Interesting news though – and if they say he will be fit i’m sure he will be.

      Wish him a speedy recovery.

      Out of interest who would take over the seat should he not make in Melbourne?

      1. Perhaps Glock is lucky Bahrain did not take place.

        Looks that way, doesn’t it?

        1. Indeed – i’m no doctor but his recovery time depends on when they found the appendicitis – did it explode?

          Either way he definitely needs at least two weeks before he’s back to full strength.

          1. I don’t think it exploded. If it did, they would have had to do something a little more drastic than keyhole surgery, which is specifically designed to be as uninvasive as possible and give patients a faster turn-around period. If Glock’s appendix exploded, they would have had to have open him up to clean it all out.

            1. Sorry, I didn’t realise it was keyhole surgery. Therefore I seriously doubt it exploded.

              Hoping he can be on the grid in Melbourne.

              Also… good job Renault didn’t sign him last year instead of Petrov or things would be looking a bit hairy now! :)

            2. Also… good job Renault didn’t sign him last year instead of Petrov or things would be looking a bit hairy now!

              Not really. Heidfeld would just be doing the test in Kubica’s place. Glock would be sitting the session out, just as he is now for Virgin. Maybe Renault would give Senna a run, but Glock would still be ready to race in Melbourne.

          2. I read an article by Virgin saying “the appendix was removed through a standard insicion”.

            Seems everything is OK, but he sure is lucky not to be testing in Bahrain right now, that would be a pretty unpleasant GP.

            1. I can’t remember which soccer player it was, but I know he played the last 30 minutes of a match recently after only 1 week of recovery. Shouldn’t be long before Glock is ready. I bet he could drive in Barcelona but this is being done as a precautionary measure.

            2. I just found out it is Luka Modric from Tottenham. Played against AC Milan in the Champions League on Feb 15th and had it removed on Feb 2nd. So 13days recovery.

            3. Standard incision = open appendicectomy.

              In any case, in Timo’s case, open would have been the correct way – young, fit men with little abdomen space do no worse with a normal open operation, plus it takes half the time of a laparascopic (ie keyhole) procedure.

              I kicked someone out of the ward 2 days post burst appendix removal yesterday. I say I did, my consultant said “Andrew, get them out”. He’ll be back to his normal self within two-three weeks.

      2. Out of interest who would take over the seat should he not make in Melbourne?

        Virgin have not appointed a test and reserve driver yet. If put on the spot, they’d probably pick up someone like Davide Valsecchi or someone who impressed in GP2.

        1. I’m sure di Grassi is kicking around as well. Two rookies probably wouldnt work for Virgin

          1. It would have only been for the one race. Glock would have recovered in time for Sepang, two weeks later.

          2. I doubt di Grassi would go back to be honest – he’s been slightly bitter about leaving…

      3. Its a very simple procedure. He’ll be back to normal in a week.

    2. Hope he gets well soon.

    3. His ‘stomach’ again eh?

      1. the ” are meant to illustrate that appenditis = (sort of) stomach complaints. I don’t wanna suggest his illness being anything else.

        It just strikes me that he has a more then average number of complaints in that area.

    4. Starting late March is turning out to be quite convenient for all involved then!

    5. I expect Ned to be in here soon with the appropriate Simpsons reference ;-)

      This will give Jerome some good time in the car too.

    6. Timo is all about giving the rookies a break huh? Kobayashi, and now more track time for Jerome! Such a nice guy Timo ;)

    7. This is what Glock has to say about it, taken from his Twitter feed:

      “I’m very happy about how the operation went, and about my quick recovery. It’s a shame that I’ll probably miss the tests in Barcelona. But the guys in Australia are going to have to watch out: without an appendix I’m certain to be faster – I mean, it must have weighed a few grams at least!“

      Who says Germans don’t have a sense of humour?

      1. Have you got a link to that in his Twitter feed? Doesn’t seem to be there.

    8. Wish him a good recovery. He will take his time if the case is serious then he may miss the first GP.

    9. Get well soon Timo.

      Great opportunity for d’Ambrosio to get some extra miles under his belt.

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