Just two weeks after undergoing an emergency appendicitis surgery, Carlos Sainz emerged victorious at the Australian GP, leading a Ferrari 1-2 finish. Charles Leclerc couldn’t quite match his teammate on the day, but Sainz wanted to share the special stage with him.
Sainz finished the race in P1 quite comfortably, with the last half of his final lap coming under Virtual Safety Car conditions. Leclerc was close behind him, and to commemorate this special weekend for Ferrari, the Spaniard asked his race engineer Riccardo Adami to ask the #16 driver to drive slowly behind him just before he crossed the finish line.
“Tell Charles to come close to me and we celebrate this one together,” said Sainz. The 29-year-old’s heartfelt gesture won the hearts of the Tifosi, who felt elated to see their team on the top step of the podium once again. This was their first win since the Singapore GP in 2023, an evening where Sainz’s masterclass was on full display.
The #55 driver’s win and Leclerc’s P2 finish puts Ferrari just 4 points behind Red Bull in the standings. Although it is still early days, signs are encouraging for the Maranello-based outfit. Sainz, Leclerc, and everyone at Ferrari will be hoping for more of the same in the coming races.
Incredible comeback for Carlos Sainz
Ferrari looked strong heading into the Australian GP weekend. But Carlos Sainz in particular had the upper hand over his teammate Leclerc throughout. He qualified in P2, two places ahead of Leclerc, and took the lead from Max Verstappen in the second lap of the race before the Red Bull driver had to retire.
He then built up a considerable gap up front and wasn’t under any threat whatsoever. The fact that he got his appendix removed in an emergency surgery just two weeks ago and drove to victory in Melbourne on Sunday, impressed everyone in the F1 community.
In the post-race interview, Sainz even joked about his surgery. He told interviewer Guenther Steiner that he was going to ask all the drivers to remove their appendix over the winter break.
The Madrid-born driver’s former teammate Lando Norris, who finished P3, also joked about having it removed himself.
Sainz’s P1 in Melbourne brings his points total to 40, having missed the Saudi Arabian GP. Leclerc’s P2 took him to second place, with 47 points.
