- Carlos Sainz carefully got out of his car on Sunday
- The Spaniard won the Australian Grand Prix a week after the operation
- He said he had trouble getting out of bed last week
Carlos Sainz’s victory in the Australian Grand Prix became all the more impressive after he recovered from an appendectomy to triumph in Melbourne.
But the after-effects of the operation were clearly visible to everyone when the Spaniard carefully got out of his car in the parc ferme after the race.
Unlike the all-conquering Max Veratappen, who jumps out of his Red Bull after every victory, Sainz hoisted himself laboriously out of his Ferrari SF-24 and threw a few weak fist pumps.
But that was an extraordinary effort considering he could barely get out of bed before boarding his flight to Australia.
“Life is crazy sometimes,” he said.
Carlos Sainz was still feeling the after-effects of his operation
The Spaniard carefully slid out of his Ferrari on Sunday
‘What happened at the beginning of the year (not renewed at Ferrari), then the appendix and the comeback and the win – a rollercoaster, but I love it.’
Sainz revealed he has gone to great lengths to get fit to race, including spending two hours a day in a hyperbaric chamber.
“When I was about to catch my flight to Australia, I was still in bed and could barely use my abdominal muscles,” he said.
“I thought, this isn’t going to happen.” But I took the flight and when I landed in Australia, the feeling was suddenly a lot better.’
Verstappen’s attempt to win a tenth race in a row for the second time in less than 12 months ended after his brakes exploded and his car caught fire.
After galloping to victories in the first two races of the season, Verstappen was a firm favorite to go back-to-back after winning for the first time at Albert Park last year.
The three-time defending champion started on pole, but Sainz, who qualified second, overtook him on the second lap.
Shortly afterwards, smoke appeared from the rear of the 26-year-old’s car and he was forced into the pits on lap three, with no hope of returning.
Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon
“My right rear brake basically stuck from the moment the lights went out,” said Verstappen.
“We had a lot of good races in a row, I knew there would come a day when you would retire and unfortunately that day was today.”
Verstappen, who was also forced to retire at Albert Park in 2022, had won nine races in a row, dating back to last September’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Last September in Singapore, Sainz was the last driver, apart from Verstappen, to win an F1 race.