Pedro de la Rosa will replace Sergio Perez at Sauber for the remainder of the Canadian Grand Prix, starting with second practice.
The Mexican was involved in a heavy accident in Monaco in which he was taken to hospital for a few days, however he was cleared to race in Canada by the FIA doctors.
Sauber have confirmed that Perez felt unwell during first practice, which could be linked to his Monaco accident, and he would rather sit the grand prix out on safety grounds.
“This development hit us by surprise, because Sergio underwent thorough medical checks, first in the hospital in Monaco, then in a hospital in Zürich, and finally, the FIA doctors gave him the green light this Thursday in Montreal,” said team principal Peter Sauber.
“Nobody could have foreseen that he would feel unwell. Maybe we are being overly cautious, but when it’s about the health of our drivers we take zero risks.
“We want to thank Pedro de la Rosa and McLaren for helping us out in this situation.”
Sergio Pérez added: “Of course I wanted to drive and I had no doubt I was alright. But apparently this is unfortunately not the case. I am deeply disappointed. I spoke to the team after the session and told them that I’m not a hundred per cent fit. I only want to drive when I’m a hundred per cent well. I need some more time to recover.”
De la Rosa, who drove for Sauber in 2010 but was dropped after the Italian GP and is now McLaren’s reserve driver, will take up the seat.
Esteban Guitirez, the teams official reserve driver, is currently in Mexico, explaining why Sauber haven’t opted for him to replace Perez.
