The former Formula 1 driver, who raced for teams like McLaren, Renault, Caterham, and Lotus, shared in March that he needed surgery because of a medical problem called an ascending aortic aneurysm. This condition affects the arteries in the body.
Because of this health issue, Kovalainen had to stop participating in any motor racing activities. He was supposed to defend his title in the Japanese Rally Championship, driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 car, along with his co-driver Sae Kitagawa. They had won the championship together in 2022 and 2023.
Kovalainen recently gave an update on how he’s doing after the surgery. He said, “I was diagnosed with an ascending aortic aneurysm at the end of last year.” He explained that a part of his aorta, a blood vessel, had widened a lot. That’s why he couldn’t participate in rallies or other activities during the winter. Over the past few months, he discussed his options with a team of doctors.
“We decided to have an operation,” he continued. “I was operated on last week at Tampere University Hospital, in the heart unit there. A wonderful team of doctors, nurses, and assistants took care of me.” Kovalainen had open-heart surgery, leaving permanent marks on his chest. But the surgery went well.
“We managed to do exactly what we set out to do,” Kovalainen said. “We cut out the diseased part of the ascending aorta and put an artificial graft in place.” He’s now recovering at home. “The outlook is quite good,” he shared. “There is an opportunity to make a full recovery and regain full fitness, but of course, only time will tell how it all works out.”
Kovalainen is hopeful about the future. “In the meantime, I continue to recover and try to hopefully get out and little by little increase my activities,” he said. “The main thing is obviously that the chest bone has time to heal. And once all of this is done, if things go well, I hope to be able to return to my normal routines. I hope to see you out soon again.”
