Sainz ruled out of Saudi Arabian GP with appendicitis as F2 racer Bearman steps up to replace him

Carlos Sainz will take no further part in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend after being diagnosed with appendicitis that requires surgery, with Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman stepping in to replace him.

Sainz had skipped his pre-weekend media duties at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, before taking part in Thursday’s FP1 and FP2 sessions.

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Having described the outing as his “toughest” in an F1 car to date, Ferrari confirmed on Friday morning that the Spaniard has been ruled out of action, and that F2 racer Bearman will take his spot alongside Charles Leclerc from FP3 onwards.

“Carlos Sainz has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will require surgery,” read a brief statement issued by Ferrari, who wished their driver “a speedy recovery”.

“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.”

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Appendicitis is the same condition that affected Alex Albon ahead of the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, with the Williams driver also having to undergo surgery as Nyck de Vries jumped in to substitute for him.

Bearman, 18, got his first taste of F1 machinery with Ferrari towards the end of last year, in preparation for a pair of FP1 outings for Haas at the Mexican and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.

He has since completed several more F1 test runs with the Scuderia and is currently competing in F2 with the Prema Racing team, having won four races and placed sixth in the feeder series standings last year.

F2: Bearman bounces back to secure Jeddah pole position

After a tough start to the 2024 campaign for Prema in Bahrain, Bearman struck back to claim pole position at the high-speed Jeddah track but, as Ferrari touched on, he will no longer take part in the F2 race weekend.