MELBOURNE, Australia -- Just two weeks after he underwent surgery to remove his appendix, Carlos Sainz is set to return to the cockpit of his Ferrari Formula One car on Friday at the Australian Grand Prix.
The 29-year-old missed the second round of the championship in Saudi Arabia after he was diagnosed with appendicitis on qualifying day and rushed to the hospital.
After two weeks of recovery, in which he has not trained or used Ferrari's simulator as he usually would, Sainz is set to return to the track on Friday for the opening two practice sessions in Melbourne ahead of Sunday's race.
He said his condition would be assessed after the practice sessions to ensure he is fit to take part in qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday, but he is confident he will be able to return for a full race weekend.
"Just by seeing me move and the exercises that I'm doing in the gym, this tells me I'm fit to jump into the car tomorrow and try," Sainz said.
"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 to the next race [in Japan].
"This, together with the FIA, is also the plan that we have in place. I have another check with the FIA tomorrow. They are monitoring my progress.
"I'm the first one that doesn't want to be in pain or to suffer, to make it any worse. I'm not stupid, and I will be very clear with how I'm feeling and everything."
Sainz said the use of keyhole surgery meant he was able to make a swift recovery.
"It's possible [to drive this weekend] thanks to the advances that the medicine has done in the last 20-30 years," he said. "When my dad had the operation, 30 or 40 years ago, they cut you open, nowadays here with laparoscopy, they do three very little holes, that speeds up the recovery, twice or three times as fast as what it used to be.
"So thanks to that is why the doctors after the operation said it's obviously going to be tight -- it's 14 days from the operation until I jump in the car on Friday -- but possible.
"Will I be at 100%? For sure not. It's not a lie, 100% would mean spending 10 days training, doing simulator, I haven't done that over the last 10 days, I've just been focused on recovering.
"But will I be fit to race? The feeling right now is yes and see how I feel tomorrow, and that's tomorrow."
In 2022, Williams driver Alex Albon recovered from appendicitis, which included complications during his surgery, to race three weeks later at the Singapore Grand Prix. Sainz said he spoke with Albon to better understand the challenge he will face.
"I also found a lot of support from Alex Albon in this case, because he went through a similar process," Sainz added. "I think he got a few extra days than me because he operated that bit earlier, and he got a few days.
"Asking him, he said yes you will feel a bit weird at the beginning but then you get used to it, it's normal. Let's see. The problem is I don't know.
"Until you put yourself in an F1 car and feel the forces, it's impossible to know. What I know is that today, I'm a lot better than yesterday, and yesterday I was a lot better than two days ago. So also with that progress, I'm quite encouraged and positive, and see how I feel as I said."
If Sainz is unable to race in Australia, he will be replaced by Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman, who is in Melbourne to race in Formula 2.
Bearman made his F1 debut in place of Sainz in Saudi Arabia and scored six points after finishing the race seventh.