Sainz woke up with neck injury at Baku GP

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix has been quite literally a pain in the neck for Carlos Sainz in 2024 so far.

The Ferrari driver admitted on Friday that he had woken up ahead of the first practice session with significant neck stiffness.

"I woke up with a stiff neck and could barely move my head," said the Spaniard. "But I'm still ready for anything."

"We still went through the whole race plan. I'm just not feeling 100 percent because of the neck issue. I think I slept badly last night, in a bad position, and now I can't move—I really can't turn my head at all."

"But I managed to get through the day. Hopefully, it feels a bit better for tomorrow and Sunday."

Meanwhile, Ferrari's usual reserve driver, Oliver Bearman, is standing in this weekend for Haas's Kevin Magnussen, who is serving a one-race ban from the FIA.

Ferrari's other reserve drivers, Antonio Giovinazzi and Robert Shwartzman, are currently occupied at the World Endurance Championship round in Fuji, Japan.