Carlos Sainz may have returned to the F1 paddock in Saudi Arabia just hours after he had surgery for appendicitis but reports still suggest that he might not be able to recover in time to race in this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. As a result, Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman could be called upon once again to fill in for the Spaniard.
According to a report from f1gossippofficial’s Instagram handle, Sainz will only be able to compete in Melbourne this weekend if he receives permission from the FIA doctors. For him to receive that, the 29-year-old will reportedly have to “do some physical tests”.
Sainz will do these tests on Thursday and one of them includes him having to get out of the car in under 10 seconds. Since the #55 driver will do all tests just a day before the Australian GP weekend begins, Bearman will be having a close watch.
The 18-year-old will hope that if he has to step in for Sainz again this weekend, then he will get more than a three-hour notice. At the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix more than a week ago, Ferrari gave Bearman just a few hours’ notice before the Briton had to step in an F1 car for the first time in his career during the third practice session of the weekend.
Provided the Prema driver will again be present in Australia for the F2 weekend, it will be easy for him to step into Sainz’s car if needed. Ferrari and Frederic Vasseur knew about this and thus they were not sweating about Sainz’s fitness for Australia.
Oliver Bearman had an outstanding F1 debut in Saudi Arabia
Considering that Oliver Bearman completed just one free practice session before he took part in F1 qualifying for the first time in his career, he was nothing short of fantastic. The Briton managed to qualify in P11 and came agonizingly close to knocking seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton out of qualifying.
A day later during the main race, Bearman gained a few places and managed to finish seventh. The 18-year-old finished ahead of eighth-placed Lando Norris and ninth-placed Hamilton. Considering how impressive Bearman was, many experts have suggested how Ferrari should help the F2 driver land a seat in F1 in 2025.
Several experts have suggested that Haas should replace Kevin Magnussen, who has been struggling to match teammate Nico Hulkenberg, and instead sign Bearman. If Bearman does manage to get the Haas seat, he could compete with the American team for a few seasons before potentially getting the promotion to Ferrari.
