Sainz to drive in Australia, but not yet sure about qualifying and race

Carlos Sainz will be in action in Australia during the Grand Prix weekend. The Spaniard missed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to an operation on his appendix and was replaced by Oliver Bearman. In Melbourne, that does not seem necessary for the time being.

"Yes, good, thank you. Every day feeling a lot better. Every 24 hours that I do, I make a lot of progress. It's true that the first week was tough. A lot of time in bed, recovering, and that's when things seem a bit darker, but then in the second week, the recovery speeds up a lot, and I start to feel a lot better," Sainz told written media in Australia.

"Confident that I can jump in the car tomorrow and do well. I put together a very strong recovery plan since day one when I landed back home to be ready for this race. I will jump in the car tomorrow to see how I feel, but I'm feeling positive about it."

Still, it is not yet a foregone conclusion that Sainz will actually compete in the Australian Grand Prix. Sainz expects he is strong enough to be in action for Ferrari all weekend, but this will only become clear during the first and second free practice sessions on Friday. Therefore, Sainz is holding back.

When Sainz decides whether he will race

"Just by seeing me move and the exercises that I'm doing in the gym and everything. This tells me if I'm fit to jump in the car tomorrow and try, but obviously, I'm not stupid, and if I don't feel good tomorrow, I will be the first one to raise my hand and say that I need another two weeks till the next race. Together with the FIA, this is also the plan that we have in place."

"I have another check with the FIA tomorrow and they are monitoring my progress. I'm the first one who doesn't want to be in pain, suffer or make it any worse. I'm not stupid and I will be very clear with how I'm feeling and everything. Going back to Thursday, I wouldn't have jumped in the car if it hadn't been possible," Sainz added.

Should Sainz again not be fit enough to take part in qualifying and the race, Oliver Bearman will be on hand to fill in. Bearman is also in Australia for F2's third race weekend. The Briton is basically preparing for a weekend at Prema Racing, but he is also the designated reserve should anyone at Ferrari be unable to compete.