Sainz admitted he put himself in danger

Carlos Sainz shared some vivid details of the appendix removal story that happened to him during the race weekend in Saudi Arabia.

As you know, he had to miss that race and was successfully replaced by Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Berman, earning points for 7th place in his debut Grand Prix.

Sainz talked about what preceded this during his participation in the Spanish podcast Nude Project.

“The memories of what happened to me then are not the most pleasant,” Carlos said. – I flew to Jeddah after finishing 3rd in Bahrain, having started the season very well. On Thursday we have press meetings, meetings with engineers, events with sponsors, but that morning I felt terrible.

The temperature rose, I constantly ran to the bathroom, I felt bad for 24 hours. On Friday I had to drive and before the first training I took all kinds of medicines to bring the temperature down. I felt a little better and thought I was capable of driving a Formula 1 car.

But I was exhausted because I hadn’t eaten anything, I had no energy, I was sweating more than usual – these were the two hardest sessions of my career. In addition, the circuit in Jeddah is very difficult, has fast corners and is very physically demanding. Moreover, it was very hot, and it really bothered me.”

Later, doctors told Carlos that participating in those training sessions was a serious mistake because it could lead to fatal complications.

“I did my training, but I thought if this continues, I won’t be able to get to the start of the race and qualify. At 6am on Saturday I was still feeling the same and thought it was probably a viral infection. I felt worse than the previous two days, so I decided to go to the hospital, and after examination it was confirmed that I had appendicitis.

I say to the doctors: “We have to perform the operation, right?” They said yes and asked how long I had been in this condition. I answered that it was two days, and then they said: “You are crazy, because if the appendix ruptured, these would be fatal complications, and such an operation would take three times longer.”

But I was still only thinking about Formula 1 and wanted to get to the start of the race, so I asked if they could give me something strong so I could do the race and go back for surgery the next day.

They answered in the negative because something very serious could happen and I could just die. Then I said, ‘Okay, go ahead, but in two weeks I have a race in Australia. Will I have time to recover?

They said that the time frame is very tight, and it is better not to think about it for the time being – first we have to see how I feel after the operation. Usually the recovery takes 10 to 14 days, if you do not train – in general, I have had emergency surgery.

I missed the race in Jeddah, which was very disappointing as I lost at least 12-15 points, but after that I was determined to get back into action in Australia and take part in the next race.”

In qualifying, Carlos showed a second result, losing only to Max Verstappen, and the next day he won the race in Melbourne, taking his third victory in Formula 1.