Racing driver still feels in 'limbo' over health

An 18-year-old racing driver said he felt like he was living in "limbo" while waiting for test results following health issues.

In September, Will Macintyre, who grew up in Norfolk, shared on social media that he was undergoing treatment for brain and lung cancer at Milton Keynes University Hospital.

Following chemotherapy treatment, he has been told his condition could be vasculitis in the brain and lungs.

He said: "I'm 18 years old, hopefully whatever it is and whatever they find out, hopefully I can smash it."

Macintyre began go-karting aged eight and became the British F4 vice-champion in 2023 and was the 2022 Ginette Junior runner-up.

Macintyre said he had been having migraines that caused him to vomit and CT scans revealed swelling on his brain, which led to doctors diagnosing him with lung and brain cancer.

However, following chemotherapy treatment, he said he had been "getting worse" and was back to stage one of diagnosing what was wrong with him.

He has since undergone a lung biopsy to test for vasculitis - a group of conditions that cause inflammation where the immune system attacks healthy blood vessels causing them to become swollen and narrow.

He said: "It was definitely something we had to Google between us. It's a very, very rare thing which we had never heard of."

He said the support from friends, including fellow drivers, Arvid Lindblad, Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen, had "really meant quite a lot".

Macintyre's mum, Sian, said the journey from September to March had been "tough".

She added: "William is on medication to suppress all of the pain, the headaches and to try and reduce the swelling in his brain, but he's not actually on any treatment that's fixing him and that's the frustrating part.

"The results come with news of how they can give him medication to conquer this and he can get back out and about - my 18-year-old young man, his life is on hold and it's not fair."

Since Macintyre has been off the track, she said the racing community had been "absolutely fantastic" with their support.

"Before you know it, we'll be in April and May and all of which time William is still in limbo and not only is he not able to drive, since September he has not been able to work.

"When he was not driving he was financially independent and all of that has been taken away from him," she added.

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