UK teenager Oliver Bearman is stepping up for his Formula 1 race debut after regular driver Carlos Sainz had appendix surgery at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, becoming Ferrari's youngest rookie.
Ferrari said Sainz, third in the Bahrain season-opener last weekend and the last driver to beat dominant Red Bull with victory in Singapore last September, is now out of surgery and resting in hospital.
Bearman, 18, is the reserve driver for Ferrari and Ferrari-powered Haas and would have been competing for the Prema team in Formula 2 at the Jeddah Corniche circuit.
Instead, he will become the 97th Ferrari Formula 1 driver, starting 11th on the grid after an impressive qualifying debut.
Bearman will also be the youngest Briton to start a Formula 1 championship race, taking the record of McLaren's Lando Norris who was 19 when he made his debut in 2019, and the 12th to race for Ferrari.
The last Briton to race in the Italian team's red overalls was Nigel Mansell in 1990.
Only two drivers, triple world champion Max Verstappen and Canadian Lance Stroll, have debuted at a younger age than Bearman.
Sainz felt unwell leading up to the race, skipping his media duties, but still took part in two practice sessions, clocking the seventh fastest time in the second one.
The Spaniard is leaving Ferrari at the end of the season with Mercedes' seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton taking his seat next year.
Ferrari did not say when Sainz would return. The next race on the calendar is the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks.
Alex Albon also had appendicitis ahead of the Italian Grand Prix in 2022, which saw Nyck de Vries take his place in the Williams car, but the Thai driver returned for the next race in Singapore.
World Champion Max Verstappen will once again start on pole, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez rounding out the top three.
