Sainz feels “very weak” following illness

In brief

Sainz feels “very weak” following illness

Carlos Sainz Jnr admitted he does not feel at full strength while he is battling the affects of an illness.

The Ferrari driver did not attend media duties on Wednesday due to a stomach bug but participated in both practice sessions yesterday, ending the day seventh quickest.

“It has been a very difficult day for me as I haven’t fully recovered from the sickness that has kept me in bed for the last 24 hours and I still feel very weak,” he said after the day’s running.

“Even though I couldn’t push to the limit today, at least we completed the programme and hopefully tomorrow I will be fully recovered and we can focus on qualifying and the race.”

Stroll gets new race engineer

Lance Stroll will have a new race engineer from the Japanese Grand Prix after his current engineer, Ben Michell, was promoted to Aston Matin’s head of performance optimisation.

Michell has been the voice in Stroll’s ear over team radio since late 2021. From Suzuka, Stroll will be engineered by Andrew Vizard who stood in for Michell in Thursday’s opening practice session. Vizard will do another practice session stand ins in Melbourne before the assumes the role full time from Suzuka.

McLaren junior Ugochukwu to race GB3

McLaren junior driver Ugo Ugochukwu will compete in a handful of gorunds in the GB3 championship this season with Rodin, the team has announced.

Ugochukwu, who is racing in the Formula Regional European Championship this season with Prema, will compete in four rounds of the British series – one in Oulton Park, two at Silverstone and the final at Spa-Francorchamps.

“We are excited to have Ugo on board for the upcoming season,” said Rodin team manager Ricky Taylor. “His skills and achievements speak for themselves, and we believe he will be a valuable asset to our team.”

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