Praise for Ferrari driver

“Overwhelming”: Vasseur raves about Carlos Sainz

Fred Vasseur (l.) had words of praise for Carlos Sainz.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur was very impressed by the fact that Carlos Sainz sat in his car last Thursday on the practice day in Jeddah despite enormous stomach pains. 

The Spaniard had missed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to appendicitis and surgery and was replaced by 18-year-old Briton Oliver Bearman.

Although Sainz only underwent surgery on Friday, the pain had already been present the day before. Nevertheless, the Madrilenian did not miss the opportunity to get at least a few laps under his belt - and with thoroughly impressive times, according to Vasseur. 

"Characteristic of this family"
"When he came into the paddock on Thursday, he didn't feel well but wanted to try out a few laps. He also did the whole session in the afternoon. That alone was overwhelming, because he was exhausted after his stint. But if you look at the results of the training sessions, you can see that he had a reasonable pace and even completed longer stints. That was simply incredible," said the 55-year-old, admiring his protégé's commitment. "I think that's characteristic of this family. I'm not strong enough to get him out of the car."

It is still unclear whether Sainz will be able to get into the car in Melbourne on March 24, but Vasseur is confident: "I don't want to rush things, but he is an adult and will make the right decision. He is now flying back and will rest for a whole week. If he then has to fly to Melbourne, we will make the decision. But I'm pretty optimistic."