Carlos Sainz clinched a remarkable victory for Ferrari last Sunday, just a fortnight after undergoing surgery for appendicitis, which forced him to sit out the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
This left the Spanish driver with a mere week to recuperate before heading to Australia for the next race at Albert Park. Despite battling to regain full fitness, Sainz harbored doubts about his ability to make the trip until the eleventh hour.
“Nine days ago, when I was about to catch the flight to come to Australia, I was still in bed,” Sainz disclosed. “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.”
Sainz’s recovery journey was marked by significant progress, particularly in the second week, as predicted by his doctors and affirmed by fellow racer Alex Albon’s advice.
Leaving no stone unturned in his quest for a swift recovery, Sainz explored various methods, such as utilizing hyperbaric chambers to enhance oxygen levels and employing an Indiba machine to expedite the healing of scar tissue.
“As soon as I got my appendix removed, I went on the internet and started talking with professionals and said, ‘OK, what helps to speed up recovery?'” he elaborated. “From that point onwards, I started doing all the sort of things that you can do to speed up recovery, the wounds, the scar tissue, what you can help to be faster on that.”
Sainz’s rigorous recovery regimen was meticulously planned, involving consultations with medical experts and athletes, both domestically and internationally, culminating in a comprehensive strategy tailored to his team.
“The reason why athletes recover faster is because you can dedicate 24 hours per day for seven days to recovery. And that’s exactly what I did,” Sainz affirmed.
His race performance, particularly in the latter stages, was uncharted territory due to limited long runs in practice. Despite feeling stiff and fatigued towards the end, Sainz’s body endured the challenge admirably, allowing him to maintain his lead and secure the victory for Ferrari.
“Obviously, spending seven days in bed for your physical fitness and for all the muscles, it’s just not very healthy for an athlete,” he acknowledged. “The second half of the race was a bit of an unknown but once I got up in front and I had a gap, you can manage everything.”
Sainz’s resilience and determination, coupled with his strategic recovery efforts, proved instrumental in overcoming the physical hurdles and clinching a memorable victory in Australia.
