Following the announcement of Hamilton’s move, Sainz faced yet another setback—but the drama spurred the Spaniard on to a Formula 1 victory
Carlos Sainz looks back on his difficult start to 2024 and explains how the loss of his Ferrari seat and his appendectomy fueled his emotional victory at the Australian Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz has spoken openly about the emotional roller coaster ride at the start of the 2024 season, when it was announced that he would be replaced in 2025 by seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton.
While looking at photos from his life and career in an interview with People magazine, the Spanish driver reflected on the emergency appendectomy he underwent shortly after the confirmation of his departure from Ferrari. The winter break had already brought the news that Hamilton would be leaving Mercedes after a 12-year stint to join the Maranello-based team, leaving Sainz without a seat.
But despite the setback of being replaced, Sainz felt he responded with one of the strongest starts to a season in his career. However, his momentum came to an abrupt halt at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when he was hospitalized with appendicitis.
“I don’t think it was so much the appendicitis itself or the fact that I had to miss a race. I think it was more the timing of when it happened,” said Sainz. “It had just been announced that Lewis Hamilton would be replacing me at Ferrari. I’d probably just had one of my best starts to a season, finishing third in Bahrain and driving really well at the beginning of the year.”
“And suddenly, as if the bad news over the winter hadn’t been enough, this came on top of it—it just had to happen and caused me to miss a race. Given the impact on the championship battle, it felt as though the world had been a little against me over the past few months.”
While he missed the race in Jeddah due to his surgery, he returned two weeks later for the Australian Grand Prix and won.
“The good thing is that, 10 days later, it probably gave me the determination, the passion, and the will to fight my way back from that, and yes, I came back with a win.” He added: “That’s probably the moment in my life when I was most proud of myself, both as an athlete and as a person.”