2024 could not have started better for the Sainz, who in January celebrated the fourth Dakar of Carlos, the father, at 61 years old, 34 after putting Spain on the car racing map for the first time, with its first crown in the World Rally Championship (1990). However, the joy over the feat achieved by the Matador in Saudi Arabia barely lasted ten days, the time that passed until Ferrari announced the hiring of Lewis Hamilton starting next year. After having confirmed the continuity of Charles Leclerc, the arrival of the multi-time British champion in Maranello inevitably implied the departure of Carlos Sainz, Jr., who had no choice but to accept his new status as a free agent and begin to explore a market that presents some possible vacancies. very interesting.
The downturn over the news of his non-renewal is a difficult pill to swallow and could leave anyone half knocked out. What happens is that the man from Madrid has never had it easy coming from where he does, we could say that he is one of those who grows when things come straight and has a skin as hard as a stone, not to mention his head. In Bahrain, in the test that debuted the championship and while the majority approached to try to comfort him, Sainz stood on the podium with the two Red Bulls to say here I am for whoever may be interested. Little did he know then the odyssey that awaited him around the corner, less than a week later.
With hardly any room to enjoy the podium, the Ferrari driver showed up in Jeddah half KO, convinced that he had caught an intestinal virus that finally ended up being appendicitis, for which he underwent emergency surgery that same Friday. There he began a true time trial in which there was only one objective: to be able to get back into the car in Australia, 14 days after undergoing surgery. With the Albert Park circuit in his mind, the boy focused on a recovery that he carried out in Madrid, and which was based on active rest and physiotherapy. The days combined long periods in bed with double sessions in the hyperbaric chamber. Of exercising, don’t even think about it.
The recent change he has made in his preparation – he now does much more cardiovascular work – allowed him to regain the minimally required physical condition to go out on the track on Friday in Melbourne, where the hours of rest were worth their weight in gold. At Albert Park, Sainz went from less to more, staying one step away from the pole on Saturday and taking advantage of Red Bull’s disaster on Sunday to take a victory even more deserved than unexpected. The most epic triumph of the three that he has accumulated on his service record in Formula 1, and the best advertising campaign imaginable for someone looking for a steering wheel for next year.
“I started the year with the news of the non-renewal by Ferrari. Then came the podium in Bahrain, followed by another disappointment with the appendicitis operation. I didn’t know if he was going to be able to be here, and suddenly he arrived and won,” Sainz summarized, after adding his 20th podium in the competition. “That shows you that you should never lower your arms,” added the one from the Scuderia, which since it landed in Australia has gone through different phases. “On Friday, in the meeting room, he told us that he felt strange, as if his organs were moving a lot,” revealed Marc Gené, ambassador of the company. The Prancing Horse. The pain, turned into discomfort, was in no case greater than the courage and ambition that she demonstrated every time she got into the red car. “That’s what life is about, improving. Not only as a driver, but as an athlete and as a person. My preparation has allowed me to spend seven days in bed, come back and be ready,” said the protagonist of the weekend.
“It has been a crazy year from the beginning,” said Sainz, father, who accompanied his son in this grand prize. “This result comes at a good time, because now is when they are deciding who they will race with next year. I hope he can do it with a team that allows him to fight for victories, because that changes your film a lot,” said the two-time world rally champion (1990 and 1992) and collector of Tuareg, the trophy that is awarded to the winner of the raid in stages. hardest in the world.
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