On Wednesday, a gastrointestinal virus forced Carlos Sainz to leave the Jeddah paddock and abandon his media activities. The Ferrari driver did not feel well and was taken back to the hotel to try and recover.
Yesterday, the Spaniard gritted his teeth and went to the track, showing an improvement in his physical condition. Today, however, the situation has worsened, and Ferrari has communicated that Carlos Sainz is suffering from appendicitis.
This will require surgery, putting the Spaniard out of action for Jeddah.
Carlos Sainz misses Qualifying and Race, Ferrari gives Bearman debut
Carlos Sainz fought through the pain and carried out his work programme on Thursday. Despite his discomfort, his presence was expected today for qualifying. However, the situation has worsened.
Although there was optimism about his recovery, Ferrari has announced that the driver from Madrid is not fit to drive this weekend.
This is due to appendicitis, which will also require surgery.
Ollie Bearman will take in his place behind the wheel of the Ferrari SF-24, giving up the rest of the Formula 2 weekend.
The SF-24 will be equipped to accommodate a new driver. The talented Ferrari Academy driver is one of the third drivers available to the Scuderia.
After his debut in Abu Dhabi in 2023, he became familiar with the F1-75 this winter in Barcelona.
Bearman is presented with an opportunity this weekend – albeit an extremely demanding one.
This is obviously not an ideal scenario for Ferrari, losing one of their drivers in round 2. Carlos Sainz will have surgery and try to recover as quickly as possible. The next race weekend in Australia is in two weeks.
Oliver Bearman has just one free practice session before going to qualifying in Jeddah. Evidently, this is not the ideal scenario to make your Formula 1 debut.
Author: Giuliano Duchessa & Paolo D’Alessandro
Translation: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
