A total of nine rookies will take part in Friday’s first practice session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as teams complete their mandated Formula 1 rookie mileage for the 2025 season.
McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Williams, Racing Bulls, Haas, Aston Martin and Alpine will all make line up changes for FP1 at Yas Marina, with the weekend doubling as the final opportunity for junior drivers to gain track time before post season testing.
Under F1 regulations, every full time driver must give up their car twice per season to a rookie, defined as a driver with no more than two career Grand Prix starts.
Abu Dhabi remains the most popular venue for these sessions, offering stable conditions before next week’s test. Here is who will be on track this Friday.
McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull hand over championship critical machinery
Pato O’Ward returns for McLaren and will step into Oscar Piastri’s title contending MCL39. The Mexican finished runner up in the 2025 IndyCar season and already drove FP1 at his home race, placing 13th. This will be his second outing of the year and his fifth in total for McLaren.
Ferrari again fields Arthur Leclerc alongside older brother Charles. The younger Leclerc takes Lewis Hamilton’s SF25 seat for the session, repeating last year’s historic pairing when the siblings became Formula 1 teammates for the first time. Arthur serves as Ferrari’s Development Driver and completes the team’s rookie requirements.
Red Bull hands Yuki Tsunoda’s RB21 to Arvid Lindblad, who joins Racing Bulls full time in 2026. The 18 year old Briton has taken two Formula 2 victories this season and already sampled the RB21 at Silverstone and Mexico City. This will be his third FP1 run of the year.
Williams, Racing Bulls and Haas complete their rookie commitments
Luke Browning takes over Alex Albon’s Williams FW47. The 23 year old Briton is in his fourth FP1 outing after appearances in Bahrain, Mexico City and last year’s Abu Dhabi finale. He currently sits P4 in the Formula 2 standings.
Ayumu Iwasa substitutes for Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls. The Japanese driver, this year’s Super Formula champion, makes his fifth FP1 appearance after sessions for Red Bull and Racing Bulls in Bahrain and Mexico City, plus two runs for the team last season.
Haas places reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa in Esteban Ocon’s VF25. Hirakawa began the year within the Alpine programme and took part in FP1 at Suzuka before switching to Haas in April. He has since driven in Bahrain, Barcelona and Mexico City.
Aston Martin field two rookies as Alpine brings back Aron
Aston Martin enters FP1 with two rookies. Jak Crawford returns to Lance Stroll’s AMR25 after also driving it in Mexico City. The American sits second in the Formula 2 standings with four wins this year.
Team mate Fernando Alonso’s car goes to Cian Shields, who makes his Formula 1 debut. The Scottish driver races for AIX Racing in Formula 2 and has taken a best finish of P12 this season.
Alpine gives Pierre Gasly’s A525 to Paul Aron. The Estonian, third in last year’s Formula 2 championship, makes his fifth FP1 appearance of 2025 after previous outings with Sauber at Silverstone and the Hungaroring, and with Alpine in Monza and Mexico City.
All nine rookies will run in the one hour session on Friday as teams shift towards both the title decider and the 2026 driver development landscape.
loading
Latest News
Loading
