Last Updated on March 20 2024, 3:29 pm

Carlos Sainz was the second amongst the current crop of Formula One drivers to be forced out of his race seat due to appendicitis. Eighteen months ago in Monza, Williams driver Alex Albon suffered the same fate and was replaced by Nyck de Vries.

The young dutch driver qualified in the top ten and scored points on debut, but this was only enough to see him given ten races last season in the Alpha Tauri team before his budding F1 career was cut short.

 

 

 

Sainz absence, sees star F1 rookie emerge

British driver Oliver Bearman was the Ferrari reserve driver selected to replace Sainz in Jeddah, and given his lack of time in the car the rookie performed behind expectations. Oli missed knocking Lewis Hamilton out of the top ten shootout in qualifying by a mere 0.036 seconds and went on to come through the field during the race finishing in seventh, ahead of Hamilton and Norris.

Albon was fit for the race after Monza which fortuitously was 14 days on from his emergency admittance to hospital and given Carlos Sainz has the same recovery period, it was initially expected he would easily be fit for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.

Yet now it appears there is doubt over whether Sainz can cope with the rigours of driving a Formula One car so soon after his operation.  F1 photographer, Kym Illman, reports “he is not moving freely” who after speaking to the 29-year-old is not convinced he will be ready to return this weekend.

In a social media post, Illman wrote: “Twelve days ago, Carlos Sainz had his appendix removed in Jeddah. Today [Wednesday] I photographed him in the Albert Park paddock after he returned from riding the track on a bicycle with his crew.

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Carlos “not moving freely”

“After getting off his bike, it looked to me like he was not moving freely.

“I spoke to him for a couple of minutes and I’m not 100 per cent sure his body is ready for the rigours of an F1 race.”

Illman reveals Sainz said he will be making adjustments to the padding around his seat for the weekend in an effort to make his driving position more comfortable.

“He showed his keyhole surgery scar to a handful of crew out the back of the garage and then explained his plan to reduce some of the pressure on his stomach using padding under his seat belt buckle,” Illman says.

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No reserve F2 driver for Bearman

Carlos will apparently ‘give it a go’ in free practice one to see if his body can put up with the demands of 5g plus under braking. Yet his Prema team for who he drives in F2, have not listed a reserve driver for Bearman should he be required to drive for Ferrari again in F1.

“If he’s at risk of doing further damage, he’ll have to step aside and let Ollie Bearman race again,” Tillman commentates. “Someone did tell me, though, that Prema have not brought a reserve driver to Australia which would suggest they’re of the opinion Ollie won’t be needed in the Ferrari.”

The news will be a blow to Sainz who is looking to prove his worth after being dropped by the Scuderia at the end of this season. With 13 F1 drivers out of contract for 2025, the opportunities for Carlos should be a plenty. Yet even the calibre of Sainz needs to show future potential employers he is on top of his game – and can beat his preferred team mate.

With either or both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez leaving Red Bull, this opens up a huge chance for Carlos given he’s never driver a championship winning F1 car before. 

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Sainz possible future options

Of course there is the empty Lewis Hamilton seat at Mercedes, but whether the Silver Arrows are prepared to take Ferrari’s ‘cast off’ is something only time will reveal.

Sainz was best of the rest in this year’s seasons opener in Bahrain, as he came home comfortable ahead of team mate Charles Leclerc and claimed the final step on the podium.

Oli Bearman has created a conundrum for Ferrari who just signed Lewis Hamilton and gave Charles Leclerc a lengthy contract extension. Unless the Scuderia can find a seat for the young Brit next season, they cold lose him to either Red Bull or even Mercedes.

This happened with Max Verstappen who was quickly promoted to the full Red Bull team while Ferrari and Mercedes made claims they had rights to his future.

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Bearman to shine again in Australia

Given Sauber-Audi are now ploughing their own future furrow, its unlikely they will want to have a Ferrari junior forced upon them and so it will be left to the powers that be in Maranello, to persuade Haas F1 to drop one of their drivers and take in Bearman for next year.

The ever cash strapped Haas F1 team will in return get a deal on the cost of their Ferrari engines for next year and for now the Bearman problem for the Scuderia goes away.

Yet with Hamilton likely in situ for at least two seasons, it cold be Mercedes or Red Bull appear a better offer for the star rookie.

Should Olie Bearman get another chance in Sainz Ferrari car this weekend, he will be even better able to show his skills on a circuit which is less demanding than the one last time out in Jeddah. 

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For years Daniel Ricciardo has bee the ginning face of Formula One, his happy go lucky attitude and beaming smile has lit up the paddock for over a decade. But now it seems the likeable Australian is facing an uncertain future.

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