Albon details how Sainz was helped to his Australian GP triumph: 'Adrenaline is a beautiful thing, it hides a lot'

Alex Albon believes Carlos Sainz was aided en route to his Australian Grand Prix triumph by a crucial asset he has described as "a beautiful thing".

Sainz scored the third victory of his 185-race career by steering his Ferrari to victory around Melbourne's Albert Park, taking full advantage of Max Verstappen's lap-five retirement with a right-rear brake failure on his Red Bull.

The Spanish driver spearheaded a Scuderia one-two just 16 days after undergoing surgery to remove his appendix after falling ill ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, revealing the specialist advice he sought in a bid to get fit.

Williams driver Albon, who underwent an appendectomy in 2022, has hailed Sainz's performance as "very impressive", confirming he had "been in a lot of communication" with the 29-year-old over the two weeks in between events.

"I was in his garage on Thursday trying to give him some tips on how to make his seat more comfortable," said Albon. "It's been a great effort.

"People also forget you're not just going through an operation but you've also not trained for a good two weeks, so you end up generally just down in fitness, so it's not easy."

Something weird goes on inside

Albon's appendix operation that forced him out of the Italian Grand Prix weekend was complicated by the fact the Thai-Briton suffered respiratory failure.

In contrast to Sainz, Albon did at least have an additional week's recovery in between races before making a surprise return for the following event in Singapore.

The feelings upon returning to driving were the same, however, for both drivers and what ultimately assisted both to make a comeback far quicker than expected.

Detailing the difficulties behind Sainz's return compared to his own, Albon added: "I went through another issue, which was not so much my appendix, and I had an extra week compared to Carlos, so slightly different circumstances.

"Adrenaline is a beautiful thing, it hides a lot. I can tell you for sure he wasn't comfortable in the car. The first couple of laps, it does feel strange, you get this inertia, and your stomach is very weird. You feel everything moving inside and it's not that pleasant.

"I'm not sure the human body is designed for five or six G. Something weird goes on inside, but he did a very good job."