A week after his podium in Bahrain, Carlos Sainz no doubt dreamed of doing at least one better in Jeddah. The Spaniard didn’t get a chance to show it, withdrawing before Free Practice 3 due to an appendicitis attack. After undergoing surgery, number 55 spent the night in hospital before returning to watch the race the next day as a spectator.
In place of Oliver Berman, a brilliant 7th, the ex-McLaren driver has begun his healing process and will have time to rest before the next round, scheduled for Australia in two weeks (March 22 – 24).
Ferrari boss Frederic Wasser assures he is “all optimistic” about the chances of seeing his driver take the track in Melbourne, but remains cautious about the time needed for rest after such an intervention.
“Recovery is important and we have to focus on Melbourne: he has to rest this week and we will see next week. For the moment, his recovery is phenomenal. The fact that he was able to come into the team (on Saturday) is very good. There’s a hint. He’ll fly back with me now, he’ll have a full week of rest and we’ll decide in a week when he’ll go to Melbourne, but I’m very optimistic.”
Berman may get another chance
If Carlos Sainz is unfit to drive, Ferrari will have to call on one of its three reserve drivers. Antonio Giovinazzi, Robert Schwartzman and Oliver Berman share the role. The first two races in the WEC and the F1 Grand Prix are not present every weekend for the Scuderia. A decision made by Frederick Wasser to ease his program in the off-season.
“I made the decision in the winter because last year I thought it was a bit silly to ask Antonio (Giovinazzi) to do 22 or 24 races, when he was doing the LMH (WEC) program at the same time. LMH is very big for us. It’s a big challenge and I wouldn’t want to ask Oliver (Berman) or even (Robert) Schwartzman to travel with us and race in Brazil one week, Qatar the next week and in between.”
In order to minimize the travel of his drivers, Frédéric Vesseur decided that Oliver Berman would be Ferrari’s reserve driver on weekends where he was present in the paddock with Formula 2.
“We decided that when Oliver was with us, he would be in reserve. And when he wasn’t with us, he would be in the simulator.”
F2 follows F1 in all European Grands Prix, but also in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia earlier in the season. If Sainz withdraws, Oliver Berman may need to return to the track with Ferrari at Melbourne’s Albert Park.
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In sum
Carlos Sainz, who underwent surgery this weekend for an attack of appendicitis, is not sure if he will be ready for the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time. In the event of a new package, Friedrich Wasser has already chosen his replacement.
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