Carlos Sainz will miss the opening day of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend activities at Interlagos as he recovers from illness.
The Williams driver has been unwell in recent days and the team confirmed that he would not return to the track on Thursday. This is a build-up day where drivers must fulfill mandatory media obligations as well as technical meetings.
RACER understands Sainz is hopeful of returning to action for FP1 on Friday, with the Sprint Weekend making the first practice session particularly important ahead of Sprint Qualifying later in the day.
The Spaniard last missed a race through illness in Saudi Arabia in 2024, when he was diagnosed with appendicitis and required surgery during the race weekend. On that occasion he also missed the media day, but took part in the first two practice sessions before being ruled out ahead of FP3 and replaced by Ollie Bearman.
In the event that Williams needs a reserve driver at any point during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, it can call on Mercedes reserve Valtteri Bottas to fulfill the duties as he is on site for Mercedes and available to the customer teams as required.
Sainz currently sits 11th in the Drivers’ Championship with 38 points, after scoring a podium in Azerbaijan and finishing third in the final sprint held in Austin two rounds ago.
Interlagos saw a driver change due to illness a year ago, when Kevin Magnussen was unwell and missed Friday for Haas. He was replaced by Oliver Bearman in a move that ultimately lasted the entire race weekend.
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