Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz has admitted he’s left in two minds post-qualifying for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix after missing out on pole position to Max Verstappen.
Sainz led proceedings during Q1 and then headed into the top-10 Q3 shootout with the fastest time in Q2 as a positive platform to fight for top spot against Red Bull.
The Spaniard went toe to toe with Verstappen in the first two sectors but wound up over two-tenths adrift of the Dutchman, who secured a third consecutive pole.
Having returned from an appendix operation, Sainz was thrilled to be back in the fight at the sharp end but also disappointed not to convert his earlier pace into pole.
“If you would have told me two weeks ago when I had my appendix removed that I would be in Australia ready to go again and fighting for pole position, I would have 100 per cent taken it,” he said.
“But after being P1 in Q1, P1 in Q2 and knowing that I left some time on the table in Q3, it’s obviously a bit disappointing.
“With no quali in Jeddah, I am probably a bit out of shape and probably also learning this new car after missing a qualifying session in Jeddah and a full race, so there are probably things I could have learned through qualifying in Jeddah that I could have applied to today that I couldn’t apply in Q3, and the car surprised me in a couple of corners and it wasn’t the cleanest of laps.
“But like I said, if you had told me even five days ago that I would travel here still recovering and qualify P2 while fighting for pole, I would have taken it.”
Having reiterated that he was still not at an optimum fitness level, Sainz described how he has coped physically with the high G-force challenge at the Albert Park Circuit.
“At the beginning of the weekend I said I didn’t feel 100 per cent and I think it’s impossible to feel 100 per cent after spending seven to 10 days in bed just trying to recover,” he explained.
“But the good thing is that I had no pain, I just had discomfort and everything felt a bit weird inside, but I can push.
“Especially today I can push flat out, yesterday at the beginning I took it a bit easy and tried to do some tweaks to the seat, to the belts and to the brake pedal.
“Today when the adrenaline came up in quali, I could close the visor and go for it.
“Hopefully tomorrow I still do another step of recovery, putting a lot of emphasis on physiotherapy and recovery, I have been very focused on it and hopefully I can be OK.”
Sainz, of course, isn’t the first driver to compete shortly after an appendix removal, with Alex Albon suffering the same fate in 2022 across the Italian and Singapore Grands Prix.
This time around, Sainz recalled the sensations he was feeling in the car were exactly as Albon told him they would be.
“He [Albon] said when he had his appendix removed with the G-force and everything moving, it feels like it is moving more inside than normal and you need some confidence to brace the core and body as you used to before,” Sainz added.
“But you get used to it. It’s something where there is no pain, nothing to worry about, just a weird feeling that you have to get used to while driving, especially in this circuit where you are pulling five or six G in some of the braking and some of the corners, so everything is moving but without pain, so I can deal with it and adapt to it also.”
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