Ahead of the FP3 session in Saudi Arabia three weeks ago, Ferrari revealed that Carlos Sainz would miss the race due to an emergency appendicitis surgery. This left the Spanish driver with a week to recover and return for the Australian Grand Prix. While Sainz was battling hard to get himself fit for the race in Melbourne, he feared that his return was not in the cards until the last moment.
Oliver Bearman replaced Sainz in Saudi Arabia and did a great job finishing P7. However, the Madrid-born driver, who is competing in his last year for Ferrari, was adamant about not missing any more races.
In a report published by Autosport, Sainz said, “Nine days ago, when I was about to catch the flight to come to Australia, I was still in bed. Barely I could use my abdominal to move and I was like: ‘This is not going to happen’. But I took the flight and suddenly when I landed in Australia, the feeling was a lot better.”
“Life is a rollercoaster”
What a difference 16 days makes for Carlos Sainz #F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/sQ0zmCwJZd
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2024
Sainz’s performance throughout the Australian GP weekend was strong. He looked good in practice, narrowly missed out on pole in qualifying, and won the race in dominant fashion after Max Verstappen retired. However, he did appear to be uncomfortable.
Verstappen’s retirement supposedly made Carlos Sainz’s race a lot easier. But the SF-24 looked strong all weekend. If Ferrari can manage to keep up the pace, the next few races could provide some exciting battles between them and Red Bull.
Is Ferrari catching up to Red Bull?
Red Bull is still the team to beat in the constructors’ championship and Max Verstappen is the favorite to win the drivers’ championship. Ferrari, however, don’t want to make things easy for the Milton-Keynes-based team. Their progress from 2023 has also been evident, with the SF-24 being a major upgrade over the SF-23.
The Italian team’s new challenger has better straight-line speed, a formidable race pace, and less tire degradation. This made Carlos Sainz confident of chasing Verstappen right from the get-go in Melbourne, but the former’s rapid charge must be taken with a pinch of salt owing to Red Bull’s reliability woes on the afternoon. The real test for this potential battle could be on display in Japan.
Let’s take another look at those team standings after three rounds #F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/q0i7n3k4P4
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2024
McLaren too, have made remarkable progress so far. Their first podium finish came in Melbourne, with Lando Norris finishing P3 and Oscar Piastri coming home in P4.
All in all, Ferrari and McLaren look to be in a formidable position to challenge Red Bull. With upgrades set to come in for both teams, it will be interesting to see what the actual pecking order looks like.
