MELBOURNE, Australia — As he boarded his flight to Melbourne nine days ago, Carlos Sainz doubted he would be fit enough to race at the Australian Grand Prix, let alone win it.

Sainz claimed a memorable victory on Sunday, just over two weeks on from surgery for appendicitis. The Ferrari driver overtook championship leader Max Verstappen on lap four, as the Red Bull suffered a brake problem and failed to finish.

As he took the chequered flag, Sainz said on the team radio: “This is amazing, life is a rollercoaster.”

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The Ferrari driver made the trip Down Under without being completely confident he could take part in the event.

“I was still in bed, barely I could use my abdominal to move. And I was like, ‘this is not going to happen,'” Sainz said of his condition before the trip.

“But I took the flight and suddenly when I landed in Australia, the feeling was a lot better. And every 24 hours, I was making a lot more progress than the first seven days, which is actually what all the doctors and all the professional people told me.

Sainz was only cleared fit to race on Friday, having contested practice sessions of the Albert Park circuit.

No stone was left unturned between races in his comeback plan.

“The reason why athletes recover faster is because you can dedicate your 24 hours per day for seven days to recovery. And that’s exactly what I did. I started going to hyperbaric chambers twice a day for one hour, taking Indiba machine that is electromagnetic thing for the wounds.

“I was programming my time in bed, my time to go for a walk, my time to eat, the kind of food that you have to have to recover. Just everything is centered around recovery to try to be ready for Australia.”

The victory caps a remarkable year for Sainz, who is still looking for a 2025 race seat having been replaced for next season with Lewis Hamilton.

Sainz said the victory was doubly special for that reason.

“It’s not only the last two weeks, you know, it’s the whole start of the year in general, how the year started with the news of the non-renewal [of his contract]. Then you get yourself fit, you get yourself ready for the start of the season, pushing flat out.

“And then you get to Bahrain, you do a good podium, you say, OK, now the season is starting well and I can keep the momentum going. And suddenly, boom, missing a race in Jeddah and the operation, long, long days in bed, not knowing if I was going to be back in time.

“And obviously a lot of unknowns. Am I going to be back fit? Am I going to be back feeling still good with the car? And then suddenly you come back and win. So yes, what I said on the radio, you know, life is a rollercoaster sometimes, but it can be really nice and good to you sometimes.”

He added: “[I’m] just letting it sink in and enjoy the moment.”