Fred Vasseur, Ferrari Formula 1 boss, admits Carlos Sainz victory came as a surprise to everyone. He admits that “nobody expected” the Spaniard to outperform everyone especially after his appendix operation in Australia.
Sainz had to spend two weeks on his recovery after hospitalization and missed his race in Jeddah.
The ailing driver joined back the sport on Friday for practice session at Albert Park. He joined back the track after being fit, but unprepared. He had skipeed the trainings on the Ferrari simulator.
Sainz qualified behind the pole sitter Max Verstappen and ahead of his team-mate Charles Leclerc. Moreover, he also kept the struggling Verstappen behind and lead the Italian outfit for its first one-two of the season.
“This winter we agreed together to push until the last lap of the season,” Vasseur said.
“And he did a fantastic job. He was there in Bahrain, pushing the team also, and for sure Jeddah was a tough weekend, a tough weekend for Carlos, a tough weekend for the team.
Read More: Sainz hails “rollercoaster” Australia F1 win after surgery
“But the recovery is mega. You have to keep in mind that two weeks ago he was in the hospital. I think even Friday he was not 100 per cent sure to be able to drive.
“And after a couple of laps, he was on the pace, and this was part of the success – because you can’t give up one lap in free practice if you want to perform.
Top Videos
“For sure, it’s amazing. If you have a look on where he’s coming from nobody expected a result like this.”
Vasseur believed that Sainz had no extra advantage over his team-mate Leclerc.
“We are speaking about plus or minus half a tenth,” he said. “And classification is one thing, the pace is another one.
“I think during the race the issue is that we had to cover [Oscar] Piastri at the beginning, that was not ideal in terms of race time, for sure.
“We didn’t want to give up the position on track, and we put him in the tough situation. But on the last stint that he knew more about the degradation of the hard, and he was able to be very consistent and it was a good one.”
