Carlos Sainz was heroic during qualifying in Australia, placing behind Max Verstappen just 15 days after undergoing emergency surgery.
What Carlos Sainz gave us today during the qualifications in Australia it was heroic, exceptional. Fifteen days ago, emergency surgery for appendicitis forced him to abandon his car during the weekend in Saudi Arabia, entrusting the driving to Oliver Bearman, who did a brilliant job to take seventh place in the race. Despite the uncertainties for this weekend, the Spaniard got on his SF24 today and from the first laps it seemed he had forgotten the difficulties of the last two weeks, during which he was practically confined to bed and lost 2 kg.
“It's been a difficult two weeks, I spent seven or ten days in bed waiting for this moment to see if I could be here today and then, of course, qualifying on the front row was an incredible surprise. After the difficulties I faced, I almost couldn't believe it, but I'm extremely happy.”
Only 0.2 tenths of a second separated him from pole position, again won by Max Verstappen with a time of 1'15"915, surprising even for the Dutch champion. However, his excellent performance in qualifying was by no means a coincidence. Carlos had already shown signs of his commitment, placing third at the end of FP3 (despite him running on medium tyres). and just 77 thousandths of a second behind Leclerc who finished first.
A weekend beyond expectations
Though initially it wasn't 100% sure to be able to return to the track, the Spaniard's weekend was a continuous crescendo, exceeding his own expectations. “I still feel a bit of discomfort”, the driver confessed already during free practice, when his father was worried about his driving condition, but the good sensations with his SF24 led him to exceptional times also in Q2 and Q1, where he dominated without even having to get on the track to finish at the top of the timesheets with a 1'16”731.
All this, just 15 days after surgery. It is important to underline this, because although Sainz looked like a superhero driving in qualifying, at the end of the session we saw a more real image of him, that of a person still recovering, struggling to get out of the car and asking to be transported by a golf car to the interview area, due to the discomfort caused by the still present wound.
Ready to challenge Max Verstappen
After these first positive days, now comes the biggest challenge: complete the 58 laps of the Albert Park circuit until the end of the race.
“Tomorrow's race? I don't feel at my best driving, I'm not going to lie. But I think I can do it and as long as I can ride without too much pain, it's fine. It's obviously difficult and uncomfortable, but it's not unbearable, so I'll give it everything. To beat Max you have to be 100%: I'm not, but I'll give everything."
Although Sainz reiterates these words in his statements, after this first month of the championship which is anything but easy, we know with certainty that he will put his all into making the most of that second position and challenge a Red Bull who would seem to have difficulty in race pace. Because Carlos now plays in a league of his own, where everything is possible.
