Barrichello: I'm incredibly lucky to be alive

The Brazilian, the record appearance holder in the sport with 322 race starts to his name between 1993 and 2011, posted on Instagram via his hospital bed at the start of the year.

But it is only now that he has chosen to give more details on what exactly happened.

"Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my head," Barrichello said in an interview with Brazil's Globo.

"It seemed to be exploding, I had to fall on the ground and only after a few minutes I managed to reach my wife Silvana to ask for help.

"I immediately realised that it was a serious problem.

"Then we called a doctor we're friends with, and fortunately he immediately recognised the seriousness of the situation. I had incredible luck.

"Shortly afterwards I was already in the operating room. Later, the doctors told me that, on average, only one in seven patients recover from this problem.

"I was afraid that I would not be allowed to race again, but fortunately that's not the case."

Thankfully Barrichello has been able to make a full recovery.