Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur admits that Carlos Sainz performance in Australia last weekend, fresh off an appendectomy that forced him to miss the previous race in Jeddah, was nothing short of “amazing”.
Sainz’s remarkable journey led him from a hospital bed to the top step of the podium in just two weeks.
Despite the setback that struck the Spaniard in Saudi Arabia and his convalescent condition, Sainz managed to outpace his Scuderia teammate Charles Leclerc in qualifying
Then, capitalizing on Max Verstappen's rear brake issue and retirement on Sunday, Sainz seized the lead and steered Ferrari to a dominant 1-2 finish.
Vasseur admitted to being astonished by Sainz’s tenacity and quick recovery, especially given the context of a season at the end of which the three-time Grand Prix winner will depart Ferrari.
"This winter we agreed together to push until the last lap of the season," commented Vasseur.
"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.
"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.
"For sure, it's amazing. If you have a look on where he's coming from nobody expected a result like this today."
While Sainz savored the spoils of victory at Albert Park, Leclerc claimed the fastest lap in the closing stages of the race, the Monegasque concluding his afternoon just 2.3s adrift from his teammate.
Vasseur admits that Ferrari’s strategists put the Monegasque “in a tough situation” by rotating his final set of tyres seven laps before Sainz.
But there was little to separate the two drivers in terms of lap times during their final stint on the hard compound tyre.
"We are speaking about plus or minus half a tenth," explained the Frenchman. "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 a tough situation. But on the last stint, he knew more about the degradation of the hard, and he was able to be very consistent and it was a good one."
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