From hospital to race win: Carlos Sainz reveals details of fast recovery for F1 Australian GP

From the hospital to victory in 16 days: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz reveals details of his rapid recovery to be ready for the Australian Grand Prix.

After suffering a surgery for appendicitis on the Friday of Jeddah, Carlos Sainz finds himself celebrating victory in the Australian Grand Prix two weeks later after a rapid recovery. The Ferrari driver led the Prancing Horse’s one-two in Melbourne, astonishing everyone: the Spaniard recounted the details of the incredible and immediate return to the track.

Arriving in Australia amidst general skepticism, Carlos Sainz admitted to fearing not even being able to race in Melbourne. In two weeks, #55 recovered from the appendectomy surgery he underwent during the Arabia Friday. Even today, “the body is in recovery mode,” Carlos recounted, happy to be able to reveal in detail the steps of the rehabilitation process he faced.

“As soon as they removed my appendix, I jumped on the internet. I started talking to some professionals asking what I could do to speed up the recovery time,” the Spanish driver explained.

The focus of the Ferrari driver was immediately on returning to the car in Melbourne. “I immediately put into practice all the precautions to help a quick recovery. I tried to understand what to do by asking doctors in Spain and abroad, asking other athletes. Then I drew up a program with my team,” continued a smiling Carlos Sainz. “The reason why athletes recover quickly is that they can dedicate themselves 24 hours a day to their purpose. That’s exactly what I did.” – he added.

Carlos Sainz found faithful allies in various recovery techniques. “I started going to a hyperbaric chamber for an hour twice a day. I used an Indiba machine, an electromagnetic device for wounds.” The program drawn up was rigorous in up to the smallest details: “On bed time, on time to eat and what to eat. Everything was designed to try to be ready for Australia.”

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“I thought, ‘I’ll never make it.’ Nine days ago I was getting ready to fly to Melbourne, but I was still in bed. I could barely move my abs.”

Then the miraculous recovery. Arriving in Australia, something clicked: “The progress made in 24 hours was much more than what was seen in the entire previous week. The doctors and professionals informed me of this. Even Alex Albon anticipated it.” The rest is history: Melbourne’s Sunday is all red, Ferrari achieves an impressive one-two finish in the Australian Grand Prix and Carlos Sainz can smile again.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari