British teenager Oliver Bearman is set to become the youngest Briton to race in Formula 1 after receiving a late call-up from Ferrari for this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The 18-year-old, Ferrari’s reserve driver, has replaced Carlos Sainz, who has been diagnosed with appendicitis.
Chelmsford-born Bearman was in Jeddah competing in the Formula 2 championship and had taken pole position for the feature race in qualifying on Thursday.
Sainz had been unwell for two days.
The Spaniard, who thought he had a stomach bug, had said Thursday practice was “one of my toughest days in a Formula 1 car”.
Sainz’s Ferrari team said on Friday afternoon: “Carlos is out of surgery. Everything went well and he is now resting at the hospital. We send him our full support for a quick recovery.”
Bearman was 10th fastest in third practice with qualifying for Saturday’s race at 17:00 GMT on Friday.
His appearance in the Ferrari will mark his full F1 debut, although he drove a Haas car in first practice at the Mexican and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix last year.
Lando Norris was previously the youngest Briton to race in F1 – taking part in practice for McLaren in Belgium in 2018 aged 18, with his first race at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix when he was 19.
Ferrari have not said when Sainz will return to the cockpit.
In 2022, Williams driver Alex Albon missed the Italian Grand Prix with appendicitis and returned for the next race in Singapore.
The race after Saudi Arabia is the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on 20-22 March.
