DOHA (Reuters) – Ferrari suffered a blow in their Formula One battle with Mercedes for second place in the championship when Carlos Sainz was ruled out of Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix with a fuel system problem.
The team said the Spaniard, so far the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race this season, would not take part in the race.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull have already won the drivers’ and constructors’ titles.
The gap between Mercedes and third-placed Ferrari is tight, with only 26 points separating them and six grands prix remaining.
Sainz had qualified 12th with team mate Charles Leclerc in fifth place.
Mercedes have George Russell second on the grid and Lewis Hamilton third.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken Ferris)
