Will Oliver Bearman have to play interim again for Ferrari ? A few days after his great performance during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for his first race in F1, the Briton could return to service at the next round, the Australian Grand Prix (March 22-24). Indeed, Carlos Sainz – operated on last Saturday after appendicitis and package in Jeddah – could miss the next meeting if his convalescence has not come to an end.
Vasseur « very optimistic” to see Sainz in Melbourne
On the evening of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Frédéric Vasseur was asked about the presence of his starting driver for Melbourne. “Honestly, I don’t know if he’ll be there, declared the French leader on Saturday evening. The fact that he was able to come [into the paddock] to be with the team is a very good sign, and a very good support for us. Now he's going to fly back with me and he'll have a week off completely, and we'll make a decision on when he should fly to Melbourne in a week's time. But I am very optimistic”
Frédéric Vasseur also added that the final decision on whether or not Carlos Sainz will be in Melbourne will rest with the Spaniard alone. “The most important thing is not to push today, it’s to recover and recover properly. I don't want to rush him, he's an adult and he will make the right decision. He needs to rest this week and we'll see next week. »
Carlos Sainz, for his part, wanted to reassure his fans on social networks after his operation, and affirmed that he would try to do everything to be at the start of the Australian Grand Prix. “Everyone has done an incredible job getting me back in shape and feeling much better, confided the Madrilenian. I am now focusing on my recovery and trying to be ready for the next Grand Prix. It won't be easy, it will be tricky, but I think I can do it. »
The Madrilenian has arrived in Australia since Monday, and even if we will have to wait until the last hours before Free Practice 1 to have confirmation of his presence at the wheel of the SF-24, Ferrari indicated this Tuesday that Carlos Sainz “will good” with a view to a possible return.
The example of Albon in 2022 as a reference
Concretely, beyond the declarations and from a medical point of view, does Carlos Sainz have every chance of regaining his seat in Melbourne? If we refer to the Health Insurance website, someone can be arrested “around 21 to 28 days” in the case of physical work for an average person. A convalescence time longer than the interval between Carlos Sainz's operation (March 8) and the first tests for the Australian GP (March 22). However, this would forget the fact that Formula 1 drivers are today high-level athletes, over-trained and have a medical and sports team to optimize and accelerate their convalescence.
We can also rely on the latest example to estimate the date of Carlos Sainz's return to the grid: in 2022, Alexander albon had experienced the same misfortune as the Spaniard before the Italian Grand Prix. The Thai, who had been replaced by Nyck de Vries in Williams, had been operated on September 10More had suffered post-operative complications extending his convalescence period.
Alexander Albon was able to get back behind the wheel for FP1 of the Singapore Grand Prix (September 30), three weeks later, on one of the most physically demanding tracks on the calendar, and had retired during the race after a collision with Guanyu-Zhou. If the Thai was able to return after three weeks of convalescence in Singapore, while having experienced post-operative complications – which is not the case for Carlos Sainz – then there is hope of seeing the Spaniard behind the wheel of the Ferrari SF-24 in Melbourne on March 22.
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Yves-Henri RANDIER
12/03/2024 at 05:12 a.m.
With the physical condition of an F1 driver, there is no doubt that he will be at the start in Melbourne! Besides, I think he can't wait to get his seat back