Oliver Bearman, an 18-year-old English driver, will make his shock debut for Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend
He will take part in qualifying on Friday and replace Carlos Sainz, who has appendicitis.
Bearman becomes the youngest British Formula 1 competitor in history.
The 6-foot-2 teenager currently drives in Formula 2 and is Ferrari’s reserve driver.
More to follow…
In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ferrari said: ‘Carlos Sainz has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will require surgery.
‘From FP3 and the rest of this weekend he will be replaced by reserve driver Oliver Bearman. Oliver will therefore no longer participate in this round of the F2 championship.
“The Ferrari family wishes Carlos a speedy recovery.”
Sainz, who finished seventh in FP2, admitted he was struggling.
He said: “It’s obviously a very difficult day after feeling ill. The past 24 hours have been tough and difficult for me.
‘Today was about getting myself on track and learning as much as possible from the car without really pushing the limits as I was still a bit on the less than ideal side, but we managed the program without any problems to complete. ‘