Ferrari Formula 1 boss Frederic Vasseur is “optimistic” that Carlos Sainz will be able to race in the Australian Grand Prix but the final decision will be taken next week.
Sainz’s media commitments ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix were cancelled as he was feeling unwell, but he elected to drive in the opening practice sessions.
However, it was communicated ahead of FP3 that Sainz had been diagnosed with appendicitis and would require an operation, ruling him out of competing in Jeddah.
The Spaniard’s absence provided an unexpected chance for Oliver Bearman to make his maiden F1 start, with the British debutant excelling to deliver a seventh place.
Reflecting on the events of the weekend, Vasseur concedes that Ferrari was unaware of the magnitude of the illness Sainz was contending with until his hospital visit.
“Yeah, that it was a strange situation,” Vasseur recalled. “At the beginning of the weekend we were convinced it was food intoxication.
“He struggled a lot on Thursday on both sessions with fever and stomach issues and then at the end that he was convinced that it will be much better the day after.
“And the day after he called me in the morning that I will probably miss FP3, I will be there for the quali for sure and that 11.30 was in the hospital and it was quite clear that we were not going on the right direction. Thanks to the hospital in Jeddah and to everybody from the organization that did the surgery yesterday, Friday.
“And this morning I visited him and he was completely okay. He was there today, okay, he has the pain, he’s trying to walk but it’s a huge recovery.
“Now we have to be focused on Melbourne. He needs to have a good rise this week and we’ll see you next time.”
Vasseur believes that Sainz’s presence in the paddock for the race was positive and outlined that Ferrari will give him ample time to assess his return date to action.
Asked how long Sainz will need to recover, Vasseur replied: “This I don’t know.
“Honestly that the recovery so far is amazing that the fact that he was able to come today to be with the team was a very good sign and a very good support for us.
“Now we will fly back with me tomorrow, then we’ll have one week of complete rest and we’ll take a decision on when he has to fly to Melbourne in one week time, but I’m quite optimistic.”
Vasseur commended Sainz’s initial attempt to fight through the pain barrier at the high-speed Jeddah track, highlighting his impressive pace in the circumstances.
“I think it’s a characteristic of the family probably that I’m not strong enough to extract Carlos from the car,” the Frenchman remarked.
“When he came on Thursday morning that he didn’t feel well, but said okay I will let me try to do some laps and then he did the full session the afternoon it was exactly the same.
“He was already at this stage, he was amazing for me because half an hour after the session he was completely destroyed.
“And if you have a look on the result of FP1, FP2 he had a very decent pace. He was even able to do long stint and this was mega.
“But now Let’s be focused on the future for Carlos. The most important is not to push today. It’s to recover and to recover properly I don’t want to rush or something like this that. He’s an adult and he will take the right decision.”
