As one of the leading orthopaedic surgeons in the world, Saillant has a huge amount of experience in sports medicine, He has been involved in motor sport for over twenty years, operating on some of the top drivers in the world. He is the man that Michael Schumacher first turned to when he badly broke his leg in an accident at the British Grand Prix in 1999.

Now the Institute is utilising Saillant’s experience to help more doctors and surgeons develop the knowledge needed to specialise in motor sport injuries. It is a project that Saillant believes is essential to improve safety in the sport.

Saillant said: “Motor sport will always be a sport with an element of risk. The goal for the Institute is to decrease this risk. A very good job has been performed by top motor sport doctors such as Sid Watkins, Jean-Jacques Isserman and Gary Hartstein. But now it is necessary to upgrade the level of training of all motor sport physicians.”

One of the projects Saillant is backing is a conference dedicated to risk management in sport. Set to launch at the Paul Ricard circuit in early 2007 it will form part of Saillant’s ongoing aim to facilitate improvements in motor sport medicine.

Saillant has always been interested in sport and medicine from an early age. Born in March 1945 in Montluçon, Allier, he was destined to follow in his father’s (and grandfather’s) footsteps to become a doctor. But it was not until he was 18-years-old that he decided to take up this vocation.

This was because his first love was sport. He used to run in cross-country events, play football and would go to watch motor races whenever he could. It was only in his late teens that he realised he would never become a professional athlete and so applied to study medicine at the University of Paris.

Fortunately, Saillant’s first role as a junior doctor was in the Orthopaedic Surgery department of the university hospital. From there he developed the skills to become one of the top surgeons in his field.

He would go on to combine his talents with his love of sport many times during his career. He has been an advisor to both the French minister for sport and the French Motorsport Federation, and was the official physician of the French Olympic team in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympics. Brazilian footballer Ronaldo even commemorated his two winning goals in the 2002 World Cup final to Saillant, who carried out two successful operations on the striker's right knee.

A specialist in spinal surgery, Saillant has also operated on many racing drivers over the last 20 years. He said: “For events like the Paris-Dakar rally there are a lot of fractures of that kind. I have had to treat a lot of drivers for that type of injury over the years. Not always for the major events either, also for the smaller rallies.”

Saillant came to the attention of the FIA through his work at the Institut de Cerveau et de la Moelle Épinière (ICM), the Paris Institute for Brain and Spinal Chord Disorders. The organisation was founded through support from the Formula One fraternity, including Michael Schumacher, Ferrari Director General Jean Todt, and FIA President Max Mosley.

The FIA Foundation, which launched the FIA Institute with a grant in 2004, also helped fund one of the projects at ICM that Saillant was working on.

At the beginning of 2005 Saillant was approached by representatives of the FIA Executive to become one of the five Fellows of the organisation and bring his vast experience to help progress safety in motor sport. Saillant accepted and has since involved himself in aiding this cause.

In his first year as a Fellow, Saillant was focused on learning about the work of the Institute and offering consultancy on any medical matters. But he has recently taken a more active role. Late last year, he was integral in helping to launch the Institute’s Medical Training Working Group. The new Group seeks to improve medical education and training for medics and marshals in motor sport worldwide, a project Saillant enthusiastically supports.

Saillant is working with Formula One chief medical officer Gary Hartstein to put in place a programme where all physicians involved in motor sport have a minimum amount of motor sport specific training. It is all about bringing more professionalism into the motor sport industry.

As Saillant put it: “Motor sport is becoming more and more professional and I think medical organisation has to be professional too. Very often motor sport doctors are very motivated but are in voluntary positions. They need to be professional and not voluntary. Of course, for that you need money and organization. But that’s where the Institute can help.”