Carlos Sainz has been ruled out of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after being diagnosed with appendicitis, with Oliver Bearman to make his Formula 1 debut for Ferrari.
Sainz had entered the weekend unwell and cancelled his media commitments on Wednesday, but he chose to get behind the wheel of Ferrari’s SF-24 car for practice.
However, Ferrari has confirmed that Sainz, who finished third in Bahrain last weekend, will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the action at the Jeddah circuit.
Bearman was promoted to the role of reserve driver for Ferrari and Haas this season, which he is combining with his sophomore campaign in Formula 2 with Prema.
The Briton was in line to start the F2 Feature race from the front after bagging pole position, but he will instead line up to partner Charles Leclerc for his official F1 bow.
“Carlos Sainz has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will require surgery,” Ferrari’s statement read.
“As from FP3 and for the rest of this weekend, he will be replaced by reserve driver Oliver Bearman. Oliver will therefore take no further part in this round of the F2 Championship.
“The Ferrari family wishes Carlos a speedy recovery.
Bearman appeared in two Free Practice sessions for Ferrari customer team Haas last term in Mexico and Abu Dhabi and is scheduled to make six outings this season.
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