F1: Ferrari's Carlos Sainz ruled out of Saudi Arabian GP. Know why

Ferrari's star driver Carlos Sainz has been ruled out of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, hours ahead of the qualifying. The Italian Formula 1 team announced Sainz had been diagnosed withappendicitis which will require surgery.

Reserve driver Oliver Bearman has been announced as his replacement and will pair up with Charles Leclerc for the rest of the weekend.

"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," Ferrari said in a statement.

"The Ferrari family wishes Carlos a speedy recovery," it added.

Prior to pulling out of the race on Friday, Sainz had also skipped the pre-weekend media duties at theJeddah Corniche Circuit. However, he took part in Thursday's FP1 (Free Practice) and FP2 sessions.

Williams' Alex Albon was also forced to skip the2022 Italian Grand Prix due to appendicitis. He had to undergo surgery and Nyck de Vries jumped in to substitute for him.

Disappointment for Sainz

Sainz missing out on the race will be a disappointment as the Spanish driver was on the podium in the first race of the season in Bahrain, giving Sergio Perez's Red Bull a tough time.

Sainz would have been hoping to build upon his performance and prove to the Ferrari team that letting him go to induct Lewis Hamilton for the next season was not a wise decision.

Notably, itwas during the pre-season testing that Hamilton announced he was moving to Ferrari at the end of the current season, much to the surprise of the entire grid.

Who is Bearman?

Bearman, 18, had his first outing in Ferrari colours last year, in preparation for aa pair of FP1 outings for Haas at the Mexican and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.

Since then, he has completed a few more F1 test runs with the Italian carmaker. Currently, he is competing in F2 with the Perma racing team. He won four races and was placedsixth in the feeder series standings.

Notably, Perma had a tough start to the 2024 season in Bahrain before Bearman struck gold in Saudi and claimed the pole position.

(With inputs from agencies)