Carlos Sainz will miss the 2024 Saudi Arabia GP, with doctors confirming he has appendicitis. His replacement will be Oliver Bearman.
Less than a year ago, an injured Daniel Ricciardo was replaced at the last minute by Liam Lawson. In just the second round of F1 2024, Oliver Bearman is now tasked with a similarly daunting challenge of replacing Carlos Sainz halfway through a race weekend.
Sainz has been suffering from stomach pains since Wednesday, with the Spaniard missing his Wednesday media duties because of this issue.
Whilst there were concerns, Sainz still powered through to complete FP1 and FP2 for Ferrari.
The 29-year-old was far from 100% physically but still put together respectable times in the SF-24.
However, the Spaniard’s condition has worsened. With his condition not improving, doctors have assessed that Carlos Sainz has appendicitis.
This will force Sainz to miss the remainder of this weekend.
Health is always the top priority in Formula 1, so the decision taken will ensure Sainz receives the best care possible.
Still, he will undoubtedly be frustrated at such poor luck. Having secured a podium in Bahrain, being forced into surgery and missing the second round is an unfortunate turn of events.
Bearman to replace Sainz
Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman, who is also competing in Formula 2 this weekend, will replace Carlos Sainz.
The British driver is a member of the Ferrari academy and is already widely tipped as a future F1 driver.
Bearman competed in Free Practice sessions for Haas F1 Team last year and was very impressive.
Ayao Komatsu’s team already has plans to complete more running with him in 2024.
Whilst this is a tremendous opportunity, it is certainly not the ideal circumstance to make an F1 debut.
Oliver Bearman will have to adapt quickly to the SF-24 and compete in an extremely competitive field.
Thankfully for the 18-year-old, he will at least have Free Practice 3 to acclimatise to track conditions.
He will have also completed several laps in the simulator to prepare.
