Lando Norris doubts other drivers would have made the effort Carlos Sainz Jnr did to return to racing two weeks after undergoing surgery.
Sainz won last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix despite still being in some discomfort from the laparoscopy he underwent which forced him to miss the previous round in Jeddah. After the race he revealed the lengths he had gone to accelerate his recovery time.Norris, who was Sainz’s team mate at McLaren for two seasons, was impressed by his efforts. “I’m sure you have plenty of drivers who probably wouldn’t have tried as hard and dedicated so much of their time and effort to trying to recover and get back in the race car,” he said.
Despite having won a race in each of the last three seasons Sainz is without a drive for next season, as Lewis Hamilton will take his place at Ferrari. Norris said the effort Sainz made to return as quickly as possible was “just one example” of why he deserves to be regarded among F1’s top drivers.
“There’s no reason anyone should think he’s underrated,” said Norris. “I think the people who know him know what he’s capable of doing, know his effort level, his approach and dedication to wanting to be one of the best, exactly like he’s proved today and over the last couple of weeks.”
“For the people who know what he’s capable of doing, you would never ever say he’s underrated,” Norris continued. “Of course results are always a bit of a point to show, and people on the outside just easily judge things from what you see on TV.
“But when you’ve worked with him, when you know what he’s capable of doing, and when things click, they click very well and he has performances like he does this weekend. And I would say all year, he’s proved to be a step up from maybe what he has been last year. You’re silly if you underrate him.”
Sainz published images showing his recovery process, including one of him lying in a hyperbaric chamber which supplies an increased level of oxygen to aid healing.
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Invisiblekid (@invisiblekid)
26th March 2024, 16:59
Not having a seat for next year I’m sure is a good motivator.
Mayrton
27th March 2024, 9:00
It sure is. Next to that I do not agree with Lando. I am sure the majority of drivers would work that hard. It are merely kin (=polite) words addressed to a friend.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
26th March 2024, 17:12
With absolutely NO belittling of his achievement this last weekend, I want to point this out.
How many appendectomy patients receive this level of treatment?
There was an article on here the other day calling these guys Superhuman.
Well – with their kind of money and support, a lot of us could be Superhuman.
I’m delighted that he is back, fit, and fighting …. but let’s not start calling these guys Gods just yet please…
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
26th March 2024, 21:37
Hyperbaric chamber is not even that expensive I would guess, compared to stem cells culture and injections, tailormade genic therapies, own blood reinjections and other cutting edge techniques, legal or not.
earthling (@34rthl1ng)
26th March 2024, 22:28
I am absolutely with you here. Carlos is Spanish, well, the Spanish Social Security is giving treatments wildly more expensive than a hyperbaric chamber to patients who need it, free of cost to them.
earthling (@34rthl1ng)
26th March 2024, 22:34
And I would add, Carlos was of course anxious to get back to driving ASAP. This is usually not the case with Spanish patients. They are getting paid during a medical leave of absence and many try to keep it that way for as long as they can.
frood19 (@frood19)
26th March 2024, 22:09
obviously, hardly any.
I think it’s the kind of thing that would have made a miniscule difference to his recovery time but it could have enabled him to feel a bit more comfortable in car more quickly. Laparoscopic appendicectomy can be performed as a day case surgery in an otherwise healthy patient but the strains of driving an F1 car are a thing unto themselves, so who knows what is really feasible.
earthling (@34rthl1ng)
26th March 2024, 21:50
Would you exchange a McLaren F1 road car for a Nissan Micra? Well, tell the guys at Ferrari.
Sham (@sham)
27th March 2024, 7:02
I’m loving the misuse of the word underrated in this article. It should be overrated or underestimated in this context, surely?
Dave The Drummer (@davethedrummer)
27th March 2024, 9:42
That’s a great shot with Lando.
I’m also sort of hoping Ferrari have a rethink and pair Hamilton with Sainz next year. Sure we know he’s fantastic but Leclerc hasn’t won an F1 race yet.
Armchair TPing obviously, but if I were in Ferrari I’d be wondering about this I think.
Sham (@sham)
27th March 2024, 9:54
Leclerc has won 5 races according to the stats I just looked up.
3 in 2022 and 2 in 2019.
dan
27th March 2024, 12:14
You fool F1 aint for you Lelcerc has won many F1 races