Just two weeks ago Carlos Sainz was undergoing surgery for appendicitis and this weekend rose to the top of the podium at the Australian Grand Prix, so this Sunday he joked by recommending to all the pilots of the Formula 1 had his appendix removed, suggesting that this gave him some kind of supernatural power, since no one expected him to be able to defeat Max Verstappen already Sergio Perez, the drivers 1 and 2 in the championship, favorites to take a victory that they did not achieve.
“It was a good race, I felt very good; something rigid, because physically it was not the easiest; but I felt good and was able to manage the tires well. And I am very happy, with my victory and with Ferrari’s ‘double’,” commented the talented driver from Madrid as soon as he got out of his car and before going up to the podium in Albert Park, where this Sunday he played the Spanish anthem again after achieve his third victory in F1.
“Hard work pays off; “Life can be a roller coaster, but it is wonderful,” said Sainz – now fourth in the World Cup – after shining in an epic race in Australia. Where he was also chosen ‘Pilot of the Day’.
“I recommend all pilots remove their appendix,” Carlos joked after winning a race in which the Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull), triple world champion and who continues to lead the championship, he abandoned after the fifth of 58 laps; due to a brake problem.
“I am very happy with my victory,” said an exultant Sainz. “He already has many,” the triumphant Spaniard declared, smiling, in reference to Verstappen; which, in any case, he had passed on the track before the aforementioned abandonment occurred.
Apart from receiving the logical congratulations from his team; from his very excited father, the double Spanish world rally champion (and quadruple winner of the Dakar Rally) of the same name; from his cousin and representative, ‘Caco’; and his girlfriend, Rebeca, present this weekend in Albert Park; Carlos also received those from the Englishman Lando Norris, third this Sunday and with whom he has a great friendship – and many games of golf – since they were teammates in McLaren, the team in which the highly valued Spanish driver played before signing for Ferrari .
“I told Lando to have appendix surgery, that is something that helps”, confessedlater, between laughters, Sainz, who this Sunday achieved the third victory of his career in F1, after those he signed two years ago in the British Grand Prix – in Silverstone, home of the first test in the history of the queen category, back in 1950-; and last year, in Singapore.
“Life is sometimes unpredictable. This year began with the disappointment of the non-renewal (with Ferrari), then came the joy of third place in Bahrain; and then, the misfortune of appendicitiswhich leads you to not know what is going to happen. Then he arrived in Australia and won the race. It is a victory that It tastes like glory to me and shows that you should never give up.“said Sainz after winning in Melbourne.
“It has been a good race; From the beginning I saw that I could keep up with Verstappen; He lost the car on lap three and I was able to pass him; and then he had brake problems and had to retire. I think after the second round I already knew that today he could do it. The risk of a safety car entering was always present, but luckily it was a clean race,” the Spaniard from Ferrari told the Dazn television channel this Sunday in Melbourne.
“I didn’t fear that the tires wouldn’t hold up,” said Sainz, referring to the radio messages in which he warned his team about tire wear. “They asked me if I was going for the fastest lap and I told them better not; because the wheels were quite worn out and, furthermore, Charles (Leclerc) already had the fastest lap,” he explained.
“They showered me in champagne,” Carlos laughed after his outstanding victory. “I felt some back pain from being in bed for several days, without training. But physically I didn’t have a bad time and I was able to complete a race without problems. And the truth is that being able to do the race first and without problems also helps,” Carlos said this Sunday in Australia, where he scored his twentieth podium in F1.
“I don’t know if it was a perfect race, but I did everything I had to do. I made the start well, without losing position, on the dirty side of the track; and on the first lap we had to try to get the DRS from Verstappen, which is what I did. We knew that the DRS here is six tenths; and those six tenths help you. He also knew that he had the pace to put pressure on him. And that is what we have done”.
“We were able to pass him. Then, obviously, (Verstappen) has had his problems. But you have to be there, so that he has them,” stated Sainz; that he was not afraid that victory could escape him in the final stretch of the test.
“I didn’t feel that way in terms of the ‘gap’ (the advantage) I had with respect to Charles (Leclerc) and Lando (Norris). But, obviously, I didn’t like the idea of red flags, ‘safety cars’ and all that,” he noted.
“I dedicated myself to going at my own pace, protecting the hard wheel from graining. I have had to manage the tire a lot, yes, because it is no secret that this weekend there was a lot of graining. But we had a good pace and we were able to control it well,” said the talented driver from Madrid after winning ‘Down Under’.
“This weekend I had a very good pace and I knew that if I saved the tire in certain places I would protect it,” said Sainz, who was happy with his constant progression as a driver.
“That’s what life is about, improving in everything. As an athlete and as a person. You have to always take baby steps forward; and This year I have taken another important step, in tire management and physical preparation. And that physical preparation It is what allows you to spend seven or ten days in bed, come back and continue driving an F1“, concluded a triumphant Sainz this Sunday at the Albert Park circuit.
*With information from EFE.
Keep reading:
· Carlos Sainz achieves the unthinkable: from undergoing surgery for appendicitis to winning in Formula 1
· George Russell of Mercedez suffered a spectacular accident at the Australian Grand Prix
· “We were not up to the task”: Checo Pérez after being off the podium in the Australian GP