Carlos Sainz shone like a true hero at the Australian GP Qualifying. Despite not being completely comfortable while driving – a consequence of his appendicitis surgery in the previous race weekend – he secured P2 for Ferrari. As it turns out, before the session, Alex Albon, the only other driver on the current grid to have undergone surgery for the same complication, had some words of wisdom for him.

Alex Albon had undergone laparoscopic surgery in 2022, after being diagnosed with appendicitis. As a result, he was ruled out of the Italian Grand Prix. His rival in red, Sainz suffered the same ordeal at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this year. Coming into the Australian GP weekend, there were some doubts over his fitness but Frederic Vasseur rubbished all of them.

After securing P2 in Melbourne, Sainz revealed the conversation he had with Albon that gave him some reassurance. “It’s exactly what Alex told me before jumping in the car,” he told BBC, as quoted by fia.com. “He said when he got his appendix removed, just with the G-Force, everything in the inside just feels like it’s moving more than normal and you need some confidence to brace the core and the body as you used to do before, but you get used to it. It’s something that you… There is no pain. There is nothing to worry about.

He further added, saying, “It’s just a weird feeling that you have to get used to while driving, especially these circuits. We’re pulling 5 or 6 Gs in some of the brakings and some of the corners. So yeah, obviously, everything is moving. But as I said, without pain, and I can deal with it, and I can adapt to it also.”

A friend in need is a friend indeed. Sainz got through the first hurdle to victory, which was a demanding Qualifying. He now shifts his focus onto the race to give his “100% to beat Max”.

Carlos Sainz confident of challenging Max Verstappen for the Australian GP Win

Despite not finishing P1 in FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1, and Q2, Max Verstappen put in a miracle lap to secure pole in Melbourne today. Carlos Sainz believed that he lost out on pole because he couldn’t give his 100%. However, he was aware that he needed to be at “100%”  to have any chance to overcome Verstappen.

“Tomorrow, I need to be 100% to beat Max,” Sainz said in a post-qualifying interview. “I will give it my absolute everything to do it because it’s been a while since Singapore [Sainz’s last win] and he has been on the top step of the podium since. But if there is one weekend where we have a good pace, it is this one.”

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