Sainz's iron-willed determination
From a hospital bed to the top of the podium in 16 days. Carlos Sainz's journey from Saudi Arabia to Australia was definitely not straightforward, but in the end, all the physical suffering because of an attack of appendicitis which necessitated him undergoing emergency surgery in Jedda and then the mental torment of having to miss a race in what is going to be an important year for him, all proved to be worth it, and how!
Victory in Melbourne is very special for the Spaniard. While the joy of that first win at Silverstone in '22 is unforgettable for him, today's sweet taste of success will be something he will savour for a long time. Not only because of the way he fought back from 16 days of convalescence to race, while understandably not in peak physical condition, but also because of the importance it now takes on in light of his situation.
Remember that Carlos is currently without a drive for next year, given that Ferrari has opted to replace him with Lewis Hamilton as from 2025. Regardless of what's been said in public, the Spaniard will have found that hard to digest, so missing Jeddah made the situation even more complicated especially coming off the back of his third place finish ahead of his team-mate at the season opener in Bahrain.
That explains Carlos' absolute determination to be back in the car for Melbourne, despite having to spend over a week in bed to recover from surgery. “I started going to hyperbaric chambers twice a day for one hour, taking an Indiba machine, that is electromagnetic thing for the wounds,” he explained after the race. “I was programming my time in bed, my time to go for a walk, my time to eat, the kind of food that you have to recover. Just everything is centred around recovery to try to be ready for Australia. Now, you ask me, nine days ago, when I was about to catch the flight to come to Australia, I was still in bed. Barely I could use my abdominal to move. And I was like, this is not going to happen. But I took the flight, and suddenly when I landed in Australia, the feeling was a lot better. And every 24 hours, I was making a lot more progress than the first seven days, which is actually what all the doctors and all the professional people told me. Don't worry, because the second week, every day is going to improve a lot more than the first week. And even Alex Albon told me this, I remember.”
The hug from his father and the emotion from his new physio watching his charge get out of the race car, clearly very tired, said more than any words could about what was involved in getting from Jeddah to Melbourne and how much he owed to his family and those around him. Of course, he couldn't have done it without the team and the selfie Carlos took with Charles in parc fermé tells that side of the story, but nevertheless it was quite an achievement.
Over the past 25 races, since Abu Dhabi in 2022, Carlos is still the only driver to have defeated Red Bull, having also won last year in Singapore. There are currently several team principals in the paddock looking for a fast, serious, winning driver, armed with iron-willed determination. If the last 16 days are anything to go by, they know where to look.
