Carlos Sainz has missed the opening event of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend at Interlagos as he recovers from illness.
The Williams driver has not been feeling well in recent days and the team confirmed on Thursday that he would not be on track. Thursday is set-up day when drivers must attend mandatory media relations and engineering meetings.
RACER understands Sainz hopes to be back in time for Friday’s FP1, with the first practice session being particularly important during the sprint weekend ahead of sprint qualifying later in the day.
The Spaniard most recently missed a race due to illness in Saudi Arabia in 2024, when he was diagnosed with appendicitis and required surgery during the race weekend. He was also absent from media day, but after taking part in the first two practice sessions, he was removed before FP3 and replaced by Olly Bearman.
If Williams needs a reserve driver at any stage of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, they could call on Mercedes reserve driver Valtteri Bottas to fulfill the role. This is because Valtteri Bottas will be on site for Mercedes and available to customer teams if needed.
Sainz currently sits 11th in the drivers’ championship with 38 points after finishing on the podium in Azerbaijan and finishing third in the final sprint in Austin two races ago.
A year ago at Interlagos, Kevin Magnussen was forced to miss Friday’s race against Haas due to illness and was replaced by Oliver Bearman, who ultimately remained the same throughout the race weekend.
