Charles Leclerc jokingly says he is “tempted” to remove his appendix after Carlos Sainz's victory in Australia

Charles Leclerc hilariously stated that he might remove his appendix after seeing Carlos Sainz winning the 2024 F1 Australian GP.

A few weeks ago, Carlos Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis and was replaced by Oliver Bearman for the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP. The Spaniard had his appendix removed and recovered quickly to make himself fit for the Australian GP. During the race weekend at Albert Park, Sainz's performance was brilliant. He qualified for P2, took the lead in the race from defending world champion Max Verstappen, and won the race.

Since this race was right after Sainz's appendix was removed, Charles Leclerc was asked by Sky Sports whether he was also tempted to remove his appendix. Replying to this hilarious question, Leclerc chuckled that Sainz's performance could be linked with him losing weight after the surgery.

"Yeah, maybe he lost a little bit of weight! That's why he was so quick, I don't know...he was really on it!" Leclerc laughed

Carlos Sainz won the race, while Charles Leclerc finished second, giving Ferrari their first 1-2 finish in 2024. The team's last 1-2 finish was in the 2022 F1 Bahrain GP, where Leclerc took the victory and Sainz finished second.

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Carlos Sainz's initial thoughts on winning the 2024 F1 Australian GP after appendicitis

Carlos Sainz had a brilliant comeback after his appendix removal surgery as he won the race in Melbourne. The Spaniard qualified second and won the race, keeping the lead on most laps. Speaking to F1TV after the race, the Ferrari driver explained that he physically felt stiff during the race but was able to manage the car well.

“It was a really good race; I felt really good out there. Of course, [I’m] a bit stiff, especially physically, it wasn’t the easiest, but I was lucky that I was more or less on my own and I could manage my pace, manage the tyres, manage everything. It wasn’t the toughest race of all, but yeah, very happy, very proud of the team,” Sainz said.

Later on, he touched on how his start to the 2024 F1 season consisted of several ups and downs. Despite all that, he was delighted to take the win at Albert Park.

“I’m happy to be in a one-two with Charles here. It shows that hard work pays off. Life sometimes is crazy, what happened at the beginning of the year, then the podium in Bahrain, then the appendix, the comeback, the win... it’s a rollercoaster but I loved it and I’m extremely happy,” he added.

After his win in Australia, Carlos Sainz is fourth in the drivers' standings with 40 points.