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Sainz scored a remarkable victory for Ferrari on Sunday, just two weeks after undergoing surgery for appendicitis at the Saudi GP weekend, in which he did not take part.
MORE: Why Sainz could have won the Australian F1 GP even in a head-to-head with Verstappen
This left the Spaniard with just a week to recover in time for the long journey to Australia.
As Sainz fought to be fit for the Albert Park weekend, he feared his trip to Australia would “only happen” at the last moment.
“Nine days ago, when I was about to get on the plane to come to Australia, I was still in bed,” Sainz revealed.
“I could barely use my abs to move and I was like, ‘This isn’t going to happen.’ But I got on a plane and suddenly when I landed in Australia it felt so much better.
“Every 24 hours, I was making a lot more progress than the first seven days, and that’s actually what all the doctors told me: ‘Don’t worry, because the second week, every day is going improve much more than the first week.’
“Even Alex Albon told me, I remember, so it more or less followed what everyone was telling me.”
Sainz has spared no effort to speed up his recovery process, including using hyperbaric chambers to increase oxygen levels and an Indiba machine that uses electromagnetic current to speed up the healing process of his scar tissue.
Watch: F1 Australian Grand Prix 2024 Review – Ferrari From Top to Bottom
“As soon as my appendix was removed, I went online and started talking to professionals and said, ‘OK, what helps speed up the healing?'” a- he detailed.
“From that point on, I started doing anything you can do to speed up healing, injuries, scar tissue, what you can help to be faster in that area. Talk to about other athletes, talk to other doctors in Spain, international. Then I made a plan with my team.
“The reason athletes recover faster is because they can dedicate 24 hours a day for seven days to recovery. And that’s exactly what I did.
“I started going to hyperbaric chambers twice a day for an hour, taking an Indiba device, an electromagnetic device for wounds.
“I would schedule my time in bed, my time to go for a walk, my time to eat, what kind of food to recover. It’s all focused on recovery to try to be ready for Australia.”
The second part of Sainz’s race was uncharted territory after only being able to do limited long runs in practice, but he said his body held up well even though he was “stiff and tired” at the end.
“Obviously, spending seven days in bed for your fitness and for all your muscles, it’s just not very healthy for an athlete,” he said.
Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, 1st position, with his trophy
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
“The second half of the race was a bit unknown but once I got to the front and had a gap you can manage anything.
“You can choose where to push and not to push and everything becomes a lot easier.
“I’m not going to lie, the last five or ten laps I was a little stiff and tired, but nothing that slowed me down too much.”
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