Carlos Sainz gave a sudden surprise to the F1 world before Friday’s qualifying in Saudi Arabia. The Spaniard got diagnosed with appendicitis and that effectively ruled him out of the second race of the season. While Sainz is now better after surgery, fans on Twitter (now X) have turned into detectives and doctors. A fan tried to figure out what could be the possible cause of the 29-year-old getting appendicitis all of a sudden. Fans such as ‘Emi’ speculated on X that Sainz may have had a salmonella infection due to an experimental meal.
The post has a screenshot of a reported TikTok video that shows Sainz eating some raw battered egg. Now, the user also posted a Google search screenshot of how salmonella infection can cause appendicitis. Basically, salmonella bacteria can be present in animal-based food, including milk, eggs, poultry, or even seafood.
Thus, Sainz’s experimental meal of raw battered eggs during the winter break could be the root cause of his appendicitis, at least as per a fan. Meanwhile, other fans expressed their surprise after this user posted this ‘salmonella’ theory.
Several Sainz fans were unhappy that their favorite driver had to miss the Saudi Arabian GP. As a result of him being sidelined, Oliver Bearman got the chance to make his F1 debut. However, the Briton is unlikely to step in for Sainz in future races as the Spaniard seems set to recover in time before the Australian GP.
What is the health status of Carlos Sainz? Will he race in Australia?
Carlos Sainz had a “smooth operation” as he jokingly posted on X after his appendix surgery on March 8th. The surgery was a success and the #55 driver is now in recovery mode. The surprising aspect was that Sainz visited the paddock to attend the race from the Ferrari garage in Jeddah.
As Oliver Bearman made his Grand Prix debut, the 29-year-old was in the garage watching his substitute’s performance. Bearman also thanked Sainz while speaking to DAZN, as he revealed that the Spaniard gave him good tips about the strategy and the steering before the race.
While many media personnel and fans highlighted that Sainz was walking quite slowly, they commended his commitment and dedication to attend the race despite the surgery done just a day ago. It also suggests that he may recover well in time for the Australian GP.
Thus, the race in Jeddah would be Bearman‘s only stand-in F1 appearance for Ferrari, as things stand. The F1 medical team’s head, Dr. Ricardo Ceccarelli, also cited that “If there are no complications, a driver will be able to race after 10 days. He can get back in the car. So I think Sainz could be ready for Australia.”
