Carlos Sainz confident he can make full F1 return in Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia — Just two weeks after undergoing surgery to remove his appendix, Carlos Sainz is set to return to the cockpit of his Formula One Ferrari on Friday at the Australian Grand Prix.

The 29-year-old missed the second round of the championship in Saudi Arabia after being diagnosed with appendicitis on qualifying day and being rushed to hospital.

After two weeks of recovery, during which he did not train or use the Ferrari simulator as he usually would, Sainz is expected to return to the track on Friday for the first two free practice sessions in Melbourne before Sunday's race .

He said his condition will be assessed after the practice sessions to ensure he is fit to compete in Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race, but he is confident he will be able to return for a full race weekend.

“Just seeing myself moving and doing the exercises that I do at the gym tells me that I'm ready to jump in the car tomorrow and give it a try,” Sainz said.

“But obviously I'm not stupid, and if I don't feel well tomorrow, I'll be the first to put my hand up and say I still need two weeks until the next race. [in Japan].

“This is also the plan we have in place with the FIA. I have another check with the FIA ​​tomorrow. They are monitoring my progress.”

“I'm the first one who doesn't want to suffer or suffer, to make things worse. I'm not stupid and I'll be very clear about how I feel and everything.”

Sainz said having keyhole surgery allowed him to recover quickly.

“It's possible [to drive this weekend] thanks to the advances that medicine has made over the last 20-30 years,” he said. “When my father was operated on, 30 or 40 years ago, they opened you, today here with laparoscopy, they make very few three of the holes, which speeds up recovery, two or three times faster than before.

“That’s why the doctors after the operation said it would obviously be tight – it will be 14 days between the operation and me jumping in the car on Friday – but possible.

“Will I be 100%? Of course not. It's not a lie, 100% would mean spending 10 days training, doing simulator, I haven't done that in the last 10 days, I just focused on recovery.

“But will I be fit to run? The current feeling is yes and I'll see how I feel tomorrow, and that's tomorrow.”

In 2022, Williams driver Alex Albon recovered from appendicitis, which included complications during his operation, to race three weeks later at the Singapore Grand Prix. Sainz said he spoke with Albon to better understand the challenge he will face.

“I also found a lot of support from Alex Albon in this matter, as he followed a similar process,” Sainz added. “I think he had a few more days than me because he operated a little earlier, and he had a few days.

“Asking him he said yes, you will feel a little strange at first but then you get used to it, it's normal. Let's see. The problem is I don't know.

“Until you sit in an F1 car and feel the forces, it's impossible to know. What I know is that today I'm much better than yesterday , and yesterday I was much better than two days ago. So also with this progress, I'm quite encouraged and positive, and I see how I feel like I said.

If Sainz cannot race in Australia, he will be replaced by Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman, who is in Melbourne to race in Formula 2.

Bearman made his F1 debut in place of Sainz in Saudi Arabia and scored six points after finishing seventh in the race.