Six junior drivers, including three who have never previously participated in an official Formula 1 session, will take part in practice tomorrow for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The majority of F1 teams have left it until the find round to fulfil their requirement to running inexperienced drivers in each of their cars over the course of the season.
Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jnr and Oscar Piastri are among those who will sit out the first hour of practice at Yas Marina while their teams hand their cars to drivers who have participated in no more than a maximum of two grands prix, as required by the rules.
Luke Browning, Ryu Hirakawa and Arthur Leclerc will all make their first appearances in official F1 sessions. Leclerc will drive alongside his elder brother Charles at Ferrari, marking the first time a pair of siblings have driven together for the same team in F1. Hirakawa, a 2022 Le Mans 24 Hours winner and two-times World Endurance Champion with Toyota, will drive for McLaren, while last year’s Macau Grand Prix winner Browning appears for Williams.
The three other drivers participating in tomorrow’s session have appeared in F1 cars before. Isack Hadjar, who can win the Formula 2 title this weekend, has made three appearances for Red Bull and RB. His fellow Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa first drove in an F1 session at home in Suzuka earlier this year. Felipe Drugovich, the 2022 F2 champion, has appeared four times for Aston Martin.
Teams have spread their practice driver appearances more evenly across the championship this year. Nine drivers took part in first practice for the final race in 2023. Following a change in the rules, teams will have to find time for twice as many practice driver appearances next year.
F1 teams’ practice driver appearances in 2024
| Team | Round | Race driver | Practice driver | Round | Race driver | Practice driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Bull | Abu Dhabi | Max Verstappen | Isack Hadjar | Britain | Sergio Perez | Isack Hadjar |
| Mercedes | Mexico | Lewis Hamilton | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Italy | George Russell | Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
| Ferrari | Mexico | Charles Leclerc | Oliver Bearman | Abu Dhabi | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Arthur Leclerc |
| McLaren | Mexico | Lando Norris | Pato O’Ward | Abu Dhabi | Oscar Piastri | Ryo Hirakawa |
| Aston Martin | Mexico | Fernando Alonso | Felipe Drugovich | Abu Dhabi | Lance Stroll | Felipe Drugovich |
| Alpine | Canada | Esteban Ocon* | Jack Doohan | Britain | Pierre Gasly | Jack Doohan |
| Williams | Abu Dhabi | Alexander Albon | Luke Browning | Britain | Logan Sargeant** | Franco Colapinto |
| RB | Japan | Daniel Ricciardo*** | Ayumu Iwasa | Abu Dhabi | Yuki Tsunoda | Ayumu Iwasa |
| Sauber | Netherlands | Valtteri Bottas | Robert Shwartzman | Mexico | Zhou Guanyu | Robert Shwartzman |
| Haas | Spain | Nico Hulkenberg | Oliver Bearman | Britain | Kevin Magnussen | Oliver Bearman |
*Replaced as race driver by Doohan from Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
**Replaced as race driver by Colapinto from Italian Grand Prix
***Replaced as race driver by Liam Lawson from United States Grand Prix
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2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
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