Carlos Sainz still battling sickness in Jeddah after “very difficult day”

Carlos Sainz has revealed that he’s still battling illness in Saudi Arabia, describing the first day of running as “very difficult”.

Sainz was forced to miss Wednesday’s media day after Ferrari announced that he was unwell.

The Spaniard was back in action for practice in Saudi Arabia, finishing seventh overall in the more representative second session, 0.628s off Fernando Alonso’s top time.

Reflecting on his day, Sainz said: "Obviously a very difficult day after feeling sickThe last 24 hours have been tough and difficult for me.

"Today was all about trying to get myself on track and learn as much as possible from the car without really pushing too much the limits as I was still a bit on the non-ideal side, but we managed to complete the programme without issues.”

Looking ahead to qualifying, Sainz doubts he will be at 100 per cent in terms of fitness.

"Hopefully tomorrow I'm feeling better, even if probably I will not be 100%,” he added. But feeling better will allow me to be more on the limit and perform a good Saturday.”

Ferrari left the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix as the second-fastest team, with Sainz finishing third behind the two Red Bulls.

However, Sainz is uncertain about Ferrari’s place in the pecking order in Saudi Arabia.

"Today it's very difficult to read into lap times," he added. "We will prepare everything and try to go for a good qualifying.

"The track is super high grip and high speed, so it also makes it tough from a physical point of view.

"It's a lot more demanding for the car but also for the driver.

"A tricky day, as I said, but we managed to get it done. Now we'll go and take some rest and come back tomorrow stronger."