Carlos Sainz should be able to be back behind the wheel of his Ferrari in Melbourne
It's not official yet, but Carlos Sainz, who has been recovering from an appendicitis operation last Friday, should be able to drive in the Australian Grand Prix, from March 22nd to 24th. Oliver Bearman, his replacement, had shone in his first F1 race.
Carlos Sainz was forced to withdraw from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Friday morning, even before the start of Free Practice 3, after experiencing discomfort from Thursday to Friday morning. He was diagnosed with appendicitis and had to undergo emergency surgery directly in Jeddah.
Operated on an outpatient basis, Sainz managed to attend the race the next day, even though his walking pace remained cautious. He returned to Europe on Sunday. All efforts are now focused on Sainz’s recovery for the next race in Australia.
His replacement, Oliver Bearman, is again scheduled to be a reserve for the Maranello team in Melbourne, in addition to his responsibilities in F2 since the Formula 2 will also take place in Melbourne as it was the case in Bahrain and Jeddah.
« I don’t know, honestly,” says Vasseur when asked about the potential return of Sainz after the Jeddah race. “The recovery so far has been incredible, the fact that he was able to come today [Saturday] to be with the team is a very good sign and a very good support for us.”
« Now, he will come back with me tomorrow [Sunday] and he will have a full week of rest, and we will make a decision on when he will have to fly to Melbourne in a week. But I am quite optimistic.
Alex Albon proved that it was possible to bounce back quickly after a similar operation when he returned for the 2022 Singapore GP after missing the previous race in Italy.
But each individual is different, and the additional complication for Sainz is the grueling 24-hour flight to Australia, plus the need to leave as soon as possible in order to adjust to the time zone change. This means he will have to travel this weekend to arrive in Melbourne by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.
However, the plan is for him to travel whatever happens, and a final decision will be made before the start of the track testing on Friday.
Carlos Sainz was already suffering from stomach pains on Thursday during free practice 2. Regarding Sainz’s courageous efforts in the cockpit on Thursday, Vasseur said: “I think it’s a family trait! I’m not strong enough to get Carlos out of the car.”
When he came on Thursday morning, he wasn’t feeling well, ‘Let me try to do a few rounds,’ and he completed the session. In the afternoon, it was exactly the same thing.
« Already, at this point, it was incredible for me because I found out after the session that he was completely exhausted. If you look at the results of FP1 and FP2, he had a very good pace, and he was even able to do long stints, and it was amazing.
But now, let’s focus on Carlos’s future. The most important thing is not to push today, it is to rest and recover properly. I don’t want to rush things, but he is an adult, and he will make the right decision.
He adds, “It’s a tough recovery, and now we need to focus on Melbourne. He needs to rest well this week, and we will see next week.”
