Carlos Sainz Jnr has admitted he won’t be at “100%” as he returns to the cockpit this weekend for the Australian Grand Prix following surgery.
The Ferrari driver missed the second round of the season in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago following emergency surgery for appendicitis.
Sainz was unwell but participated in the opening day of practice in Jeddah. However, his condition worsened and he was taken to hospital for surgery, forcing him to miss the remainder of the weekend. His seat was taken by Oliver Bearman, who finished seventh on debut.
Having spent the last fortnight recovering, Sainz will race this weekend at Albert Park.
“I feel ready,” Sainz said. “I’ve done as much as possible to recover.
“You cannot imagine the effort and logistics and things that I’ve done to be fit for this race. I’m very happy with the progress I’ve made and now it’s time to jump in the car and see how I feel.”
However, Sainz acknowledged he will not be at full fitness or at full speed this weekend due to the recovery required for him over the last two weeks to be well enough to race.
“It’s not like I’ll be 100% for it, because obviously I’ve been ten days in bed, not ten days training, going to the simulator and preparing for a normal weekend,” he said.
“But if I’m fit to race and don’t have any pain or any bad symptoms, I can still put together a strong weekend and the target will be to challenge the Red Bulls.”
Bearman will be on standby again this weekend in Melbourne as he participates in the Formula 2 round held alongside F1. The 18-year-old Ferrari junior driver secured pole position for the feature race in Jeddah but was withdrawn from the event before the sprint race due to his Ferrari call-up.
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2024 Australian Grand Prix
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