Carlos Sainz to take part in Friday practice, but remains uncertain for race

Carlos Sainz to take part in Friday practice, but remains uncertain for race | 2024 Australian GP. Will Carlos Sainz be able to race on Sunday in Australia?.

After undergoing appendicitis surgery that affected the second weekend of the season, Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz will be on track for the first two free practice sessions in view of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Carlos Sainz has received the green light from FIA doctors to race: the Spanish driver will be on track for Friday’s free practice sessions for the Australian GP. However, his participation in the qualifying session and the race remains uncertain, and a decision will not be made before the first 120 minutes of Free Practice.

On Thursday in Melbourne, the Spanish driver got into the car to check all the modifications implemented by Ferrari to allow a more comfortable drive after the surgery and gave his first statements.

“I’m confident that I can get in the car tomorrow and perform well,” Carlos Sainz explained to journalists on media day in Australia – “Obviously, the recovery time has been short, and I’ve worked hard to be ready to race in Melbourne. I’ll get in the car for FP1 and FP2; after that, I’ll assess my health conditions, but I feel positive.”

Clearly, the Spaniard will hardly be able to extract the maximum performance from the car with a fresh scar after the surgery in Saudi Arabia: “I won’t be at 100%, there’s no hiding it. In the last 10 days, instead of training and going to the simulator, I’ve focused solely on recovery.” – he pointed out.

Will Carlos Sainz race in the qualifying session and the race at the Albert Park circuit?
Although positive, the Spanish driver stated that he is still not sure about participating in the qualifying and the race.

“I still don’t know if I’ll be in shape to face an entire Grand Prix. The feeling right now is positive, but the final verdict will come after Free Practice 2,” Carlos Sainz continued.

“I’m not stupid, and if I don’t feel well, I’ll be the first to want to stop and wait another two weeks. We’ve already scheduled a meeting with the FIA on Friday afternoon to understand my health conditions.”