Carlos Sainz is set to commence the Australian Grand Prix from the second position, a remarkable feat considering his recent serious surgery.
Acknowledging his current state, Sainz concedes that while he experiences “no pain” post-surgery to remove his appendix, achieving a full recovery feels “impossible.”
His presence alongside Max Verstappen at the front row during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix drew significant attention, particularly as he missed both qualifying and the race in Saudi Arabia due to surgery.
Since his operation, Sainz has dedicated himself to regaining fitness for the event at the Albert Park Circuit. Ferrari, and his team, have had to make adjustments to his cockpit to ensure his comfort while driving.
Although not feeling entirely at his best, the Spanish driver finds solace in the adrenaline that enables him to push forward. However, he remains cognizant that the true test of physical endurance lies ahead on Sunday during the race.
“As I said at the beginning of the weekend, I don’t feel 100%,” Sainz admitted. “I think it’s impossible to feel 100% after spending seven to 10 days in bed like I did just trying to recover.
“But the good thing, you know, is that I had no pain. I just have the discomfort, and obviously, everything feels a bit weird inside, but I can push. Especially today, I could push flat out. Yesterday, I took it easy at the beginning, had to do some tweaks to the seat, to the belts, to the brake pedal.
“But today, you know, when the adrenaline came up in quality and I could close the visor and go for it, I could go for it, which is a good thing.
“So yeah, hopefully tomorrow I still do another step of recovery, putting a lot of emphasis on physiotherapy and recovery, you know, these days. All of it is focused around it and hopefully tomorrow I can be OK.”
Before his return to the SF24 this weekend, Sainz sought guidance from Williams’ Alex Albon, who underwent an appendix removal during the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, leading to his replacement by Nyck de Vries.
Although the 29-year-old didn’t delve deeply into how his cockpit experience has been impacted, he did acknowledge that the G-Force sensation feels quite peculiar.
“Without going into too much detail, as I said, I feel like… It’s exactly what Alex [Albon] told me before jumping in the car,” Sainz stated.
“He said when he got his appendix removed, just with the G-Force, everything on the inside just feels like it’s moving more than normal and you need some confidence to brace the core and the body as you used to do before, but you get used to it.
“It’s something that you… There is no pain. There is nothing to worry about. It’s just a weird feeling that you have to get used to while driving, especially these circuits. We’re pulling 5 or 6 Gs in some of the brakings and some of the corners.
“So yeah, obviously, everything is moving. But as I said, without pain, and I can deal with it, and I can adapt to it also.”
