Cian Shields will make his debut in an official Formula 1 practice session this weekend with Aston Martin.
The 20-year-old will complete his first full season in Formula 2 this weekend but is yet to score a point in 29 races. He lies 24th in the championship, last of the full-time drivers.
Both the team’s regular drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, will sit out the first practice session in order to allow junior drivers to participate. Shields will drive Alonso’s car; Aston Martin previously announced Jak Crawford will take over Stroll’s.
The announcement will ensure Aston Martin fulfils its obligation to run drivers who have competed in no more than two grands prix the required number of times over the course of the season. Each team must do so twice with each of their cars over the course of 2025 and many of them will do so at this weekend’s finale in Yas Marina.
Aston Martin has already run a suitably inexperienced driver in Alonso’s car twice this year. However Felipe Drugovich’s appearance at the Hungaroring was arranged at short notice as Alonso was unwell which meant the FIA could not be formally notified of the team’s intention to run him as required by the regulations.
Earlier today McLaren announced it has appointed new Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli to its junior driver programme, along with Richard Verschoor who is third in the standings.
F1 teams’ practice rookie driver selections
| Team | Car | Event | Practice driver | Event | Practice driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren | 4 | Austrian Grand Prix | Alex Dunne | Mexican Grand Prix | Pato O’Ward |
| 81 | Italian Grand Prix | Alex Dunne | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Pato O’Ward | |
| Ferrari | 16 | Bahrain Grand Prix | Dino Beganovic | Austrian Grand Prix | Dino Beganovic |
| 44 | Mexican Grand Prix | Antonio Fuoco | |||
| Red Bull | 1 | Bahrain Grand Prix | Ayumu Iwasa | Mexican Grand Prix | Arvid Lindblad |
| 22/30 | British Grand Prix | Arvid Lindblad | |||
| Mercedes | 12 | Australian Grand Prix | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Chinese Grand Prix | Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
| 63 | Bahrain Grand Prix | Frederik Vesti | Mexican Grand Prix | Frederik Vesti | |
| Aston Martin | 14 | Bahrain Grand Prix | Felipe Drugovich | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Cian Shields |
| 18 | Mexican Grand Prix | Jak Crawford | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Jak Crawford | |
| Alpine | 7*/43 | Japanese Grand Prix | Ryo Hirakawa | Italian Grand Prix | Paul Aron |
| 10 | Mexican Grand Prix | Paul Aron | |||
| Haas | 31 | Spanish Grand Prix | Ryo Hirakawa | Mexican Grand Prix | Ryo Hirakawa |
| 87 | Bahrain Grand Prix | Ryo Hirakawa | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Ryo Hirakawa | |
| Racing Bulls | 6 | Australian Grand Prix | Isack Hadjar | Chinese Grand Prix | Isack Hadjar |
| 30/22 | Mexican Grand Prix | Ayumu Iwasa | |||
| Williams | 23 | Spanish Grand Prix | Victor Martins | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Luke Browning |
| 55 | Bahrain Grand Prix | Luke Browning | Mexican Grand Prix | Luke Browning | |
| Sauber | 5 | Australian Grand Prix | Gabriel Bortoleto | Chinese Grand Prix | Gabriel Bortoleto |
| 27 | British Grand Prix | Paul Aron | Hungarian Grand Prix | Paul Aron |
*Jack Doohan drove in the first two first practice sessions of the season for Alpine before he had started more than two grands prix and could therefore have qualified to count as a junior driver. However the team chose not to nominate him as such a driver for these two appearances.
NB. Drugovich’s appearance for Aston Martin in Alonso’s car did not count as the FIA was not notified in time
This article will be updated
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2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix