Charles Leclerc misses Imola media day due to illness, Ferrari announces

The weekend is starting badly for Charles LeclercThe Monegasque will not be present at Imola this Thursday to face the media microphones and participate in the first meetings with his team. The 3rd in the Saudi Arabian GP does not feel "well" and will not come to the circuit today, announced Ferrari.

"Charles is not feeling well and will not be on the track today. He will rest and focus on his recovery. We hope he will be in the car tomorrow.", explains the Scuderia, which will need its driver to perform at home. If, unfortunately, Charles Leclerc were to withdraw, like what happened to Carlos Sainz in Jeddah at the beginning of last year, the Italians are expected to call on a pilot to replace him.

In this case, it could be Guanyu-Zhou, the team's reserve driver, who seems best placed thanks to his three full seasons with Sauber. It is also possible that Ferrari will call on local driver Antonio Giovinazzi, also a reserve driver for the team F1 alongside his World Endurance Championship program with the Prancing Horse.

Also with the option of Oliver Bearman, loaned to Haas, Frédéric Vasseur is not lacking in resources. The Briton could come and drive for Ferrari as George Russell did in place of Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes in Sakhir in 2020. The King's Lynn native then gave up his place to Jack Aitken, now competing with Cadillac at Le Mans.

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Otherwise, the Scuderia also has Dino Beganovic in Formula 2The Swede, who drove the SF-1 in FP25 in Bahrain, would likely not be against a stint in F1, as his Hitech team is going through a complicated period, undermined by the Oakes affair. However, all of this is likely to remain at the level of supposition, as Leclerc's participation in Friday's sessions is, for the moment, not in question.