The disease defeated Carlos Sainz. The teenager will replace him at Ferrari

Formula 1 drivers face the second race of the 2024 season. Compared to previous years, the calendar starts earlier and earlier. The winner of the first race surprised no one. Max Verstappen showed again that he has a good car at his disposal. His rivals will also be trying to win in Saudi Arabia. Ferrari will unexpectedly change drivers.

Carlos Sainz is out of the Saudi Arabian GP

Carlos Sainz has been complaining about health problems for several days. He missed Wednesday's media activities, but appeared in practice sessions on Thursday (the race was scheduled for Saturday), suggesting he is feeling better. Ultimately, his condition worsened and Ferrari announced that the Spaniard would miss the start at the Jeddah track due to appendicitis.

Therefore, Ferrari reached for a replacement. Oliver Bearman will get the chance to debut in the “queen of motorsport”. The Briton, born in 2005, has been competing in Formula 2 since last season. He is the champion of the German and Italian Formula 4 in 2021. This season he is a reserve driver in the Ferrari and Haas teams. However, he did not expect that at the age of 18 he would get a chance to compete with the best.

“Carlos has been diagnosed with appendicitis and requires surgery. From the third training session and for the rest of the race weekend, he will be replaced by reserve driver Oliver Bearman. As a result, Oliver will not take part in this round of F2. The Ferrari family wishes Carlos a speedy recovery,” Ferrari said in a statement.

Good start to Ferrari's 2024 F1 season

Carlos Sainz finished the Bahrain GP in third place. The other Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc, arrived right behind him. For now, it is not known how long the Spaniard's absence will last.