Carlos Sainz Jr. has gotten the 2024 F1 season off to a great start with an impressive podium finish at the opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
But his second fight was a little different.
Ferrari announced on Friday, just before the third free practice and qualifying session for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, that Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis and would require surgery and would miss the rest of the week. Sainz missed a media session on Wednesday due to “illness” and took part in an abbreviated FP1 before the full FP2. However, Sainz said in his team’s post-practice report: I still don’t feel well.
Now I know exactly why.
Carlos Sainz has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will require surgery.
He will be replaced by reserve driver Oliver Bearman from FP3 and for the remainder of this weekend. Oliver will therefore take no further part in this round of the F2 Championship.
The Ferrari family… pic.twitter.com/zePBeZlJED
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 8, 2024
Sainz will be replaced by reserve driver Oliver “Ollie” Bearman. Bearman is scheduled to compete in this weekend’s F2 race in Jeddah, and although he took pole position in Thursday’s feature race qualifying, his focus will now shift to FP3 and his first F1 qualifying session.
Bearman is just 18 years old, making him the youngest driver on the current F1 grid. He also becomes Ferrari’s first British driver since Eddie Irvine in 1999.
Of course, Lewis Hamilton will be Ferrari’s next British driver from next season.
