Carlos Sainz Expects To Compete In Australia Just Two Weeks After Appendicitis

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz is expected to return to the cockpit for the Australian Grand Prix this weekend just two weeks after undergoing emergency appendectomy surgery.

"Carlos Sainz is expected to be back in the car," the team said on Wednesday, per Yahoo Sports, leaving little room for interpretation.

The man himself made it sound like he was ready to go but added that he'll make a final decision after he hops in the car for FP1.

"I’ll let you know tomorrow when I get back in the car and the G-forces throw me around a bit," Sainz said according to Formula 1's website.

"But I feel ready. I’ve done as much as possible to recover and you cannot imagine the effort and logistics that I have done to be fit for this race. Progress, I’m very happy with the progress I’ve made and now, as I said, it’s time to jump in the car and see how I feel."

We've seen some gutsy drives in recent years — like Lance Stroll opening last season with two broken wrists — and if Sainz competes this weekend, add it to the list.

He tried to gut things out in Saudi Arabia, but when it became too much to bear he dropped out. Rookie Ollie Bearman stepped in and did a heck of a job stealing some points for the team.

Surely Sainz will be itching to get back at it after a podium finish in Bahrain, the first race of his final campaign with Ferrari.

Still, that two-week turnaround after surgery sounds like it'd be rough. 

Carlos Sainz expects to be back in action after missing one race with appendicitis.

There's Some Recent History Regarding Drivers Coming Back From Appendicitis

Oddly enough we have a recent example of a driver returning from the same surgery. Williams' Alex Albon missed the 2022 Italian Grand Prix with appendicitis and was replaced by Nyck de Vries.

Albon was back for the next race in Singapore but that was a full three weeks later. It wasn't a fun return either as Albon and his then-teammate Nicholas Latifi both retired from the Grand Prix after qualifying P19 and P20 respectively.

Will Sainz fare any better? Well, he's got a better car than Albon had a few years ago. Ferrari has had the second-best car this season behind Red Bull, and that's a trend team boss Fred Vasseur expects to see continue in Australia.

"We expect to be frontrunners on this track, which could produce a similar pecking order to the one seen in Jeddah," Vasseur said. "We intend adopting an aggressive approach with the aim of putting pressure on the team that’s won the first two races."

Let's see how it goes. Hopefully, they can make things a little more interesting at the sharp end of the field than they were in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.