F1 News: Carlos Sainz Reveals "Really Bad" Symptoms That Put Him In Hospital
Carlos Sainz, the Ferrari Formula 1 driver, has shared a detailed account of the severe symptoms that led to his hospitalisation and subsequent surgery for appendicitis. His experience mirrors the resilience often seen in motorsports, reminiscent of Alex Albon's rapid return after surgery a few years prior.
Key Takeaways:
- Sainz experienced sudden ill-health symptoms, initially thought to be food poisoning, before a high fever and worsening condition prompted a hospital visit.
- Diagnosed with appendicitis after initial uncertainty, he underwent surgery, leading to a swift improvement in his health.
- Despite the setback, Sainz focused on recovery, aiming to return for the Australian Grand Prix with a tailored recovery plan and minimal training.
The world of Formula 1 is as much about the resilience and determination of its drivers off the track as it is about their skill and precision on it. Carlos Sainz's recent health scare is a perfect example of this.
Last week, Sainz encountered a significant health scare that led to his hospitalisation. Initially, the symptoms mirrored those of food poisoning, a not-uncommon affliction but one that can severely impair physical performance.
"At the time it was honestly very difficult to know it was appendicitis," he said, as quoted by Autosport. "What I know is on Wednesday I started to feel really bad in the paddock and I got the typical symptoms of food poisoning. I don't think I need to go into details of what that is!
"I got a very high fever also. And I spent Thursday also with those symptoms, but obviously with medication. When I was jumping in the car, I was feeling a lot better, because I was getting the medication.
"But then after those two sessions, I realised I cannot keep going like this for the whole weekend. So if I'm not improving, I'll go to the hospital.
"I didn't improve, and the morning of the Friday, which was qualifying day, I went to the hospital and I got diagnosed with appendicitis, which was not easy to diagnose, because my analysis and the test that they were doing, it was not clear.
"So I didn't have the typical symptoms of appendicitis. But they were pretty convinced it could be, and I got the surgery done.
"It was a great job from the doctors because as soon as I got it removed, I felt back to normal, back to better, obviously with surgery, and I could start focusing on recovering."
The Ferrari driver, who will be left without a seat at the end of this season, is in Australia and will be piloting the SF-24 in this weekend's first practice session to assess his health.
Of course, with drivers pulling considerable amounts of lateral force in these ground effect cars, Sainz won't be wanting to rush his body back into the car. But with him fighting for his future in the sport, he'll be doing everything he can to promote himself as someone entirely dedicated to the cause.
"Obviously, I put together a very strong recovery plan since day one that I landed back home to be ready for this race," he said.
With a focus on recovery, the Scuderia driver has opted to stay away from regular training and sim racing, hoping he'll see dividends when physically returning to his seat.
"Obviously, they don't know what F1 is and the g-forces and everything. Will I be at 100%? For sure not.
"It's not a lie, 100% would mean spending 10 days training, and doing the simulator. I haven't done that over the last 10 days, I've just been focused on recovering."
He currently sees himself greenlit to race, but he'll only know for sure after he's put his body through the forces of FP1. Good luck, Carlos!