F1 team principal REPLACED as health update issued

F1 team chiefs Mattia Binotto, Andrea Stella, and Christian Horner — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 team principal REPLACED as health update issued

An F1 team principal missed an appearance during testing in Bahrain this week

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 28 February 2025 12:57 Updated: 15:12

A Formula 1 team principal was replaced during media duties during pre-season testing in Bahrain this week, with Sky F1's Ted Kravitz revealing the minor health reason for their absence.

The second day of testing took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on Thursday, where Carlos Sainz set the fastest time overall, closely followed by the two Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

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However, the order of the field will not be properly revealed until the first race weekend in Australia in a few weeks, as the teams assess whether their new designs work or if further adjustments need to be made before lights out in Melbourne.

Alongside their drivers, team principals have also been in attendance at Sakhir to make sure the first sessions of the year all go to plan.

Carlos Sainz topped the timesheets after Thursday's test run

Ferrari look strong thus far at Bahrain International Circuit

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Sauber team principal 'misses' F1 testing media duty

Pre-season testing in Bahrain has been unusually cold, with rain hitting the track during Thursday morning’s session which caught several teams by surprise.

All teams, bar Aston Martin and Haas, failed to bring wet weather tyres to the circuit, with Esteban Ocon the only driver to stick on a pair of intermediate tyres and head out on track in the rain.

It appears that an F1 team principal has also been impacted by the weather, at least according to Sky F1 presenter Kravitz, who revealed that Sauber boss Mattia Binotto had been absent from media duties on Thursday.

Mattia Binotto had to sit out Thursday's press conference in Bahrain

According to the Sky Sports pundit, Binotto lost his voice and could not attend the press event, instead replaced by technical director James Key, with Kravitz joking that the cold weather had impacted the Italian’s health.

"Wishing Mattia Binotto a return to full health by the way, he’s lost his voice which was why he was replaced in the press conference earlier with the technical director James Key," Kravitz said.

"Poor Mattia, the chill of Bahrain has not been kind to his throat."