Drivers taking part in FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will include multiple F1 debutants, as teams look to complete their mandatory allocation at the final race of the season.
Formula 1’s sporting regulations state every team must run a rookie driver — who has started no more than two grands prix — on at least two occasions during the season. Each race driver has to miss one FP1 each, although teams are also allowed to exceed the total if they wish.
With Abu Dhabi marking the final round of the season and a venue where there is no Sprint race, FP1 is often utilized due to the weather conditions. FP2, qualifying and the race all take place at sunset, while FP1 and FP3 are in the heat of the day and less representative.
The top three teams in the constructors’ championship are all running rookies on Friday, with current leader McLaren giving a debut to Ryo Hirakawa. The 30-year-old Toyota-backed driver has been part of the McLaren driver development program and served as reserve this year, and will also drive for Haas — that has a Toyota partnership — in the post-race test.
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Ferrari will provide a unique opportunity as it gives another first chance to one of its driver academy members in the form of Arthur Leclerc. As the younger brother of Charles (pictured middle, above, with Arthur Leclerc at right) and with the Monegasque taking over Carlos Sainz’s car, it will mark the first time two siblings have run as teammates in F1.
At Red Bull, Isack Hadjar gets another chance to impress as he replaces Max Verstappen for FP1. Hadjar has had one outing so far this year, and this second one comes with the Red Bull reserve just half a point behind championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto heading into the Formula 2 title decider. Hadjar is also expected to race for RB next season if Red Bull replaces Sergio Perez with one of the current RB drivers.
Aston Martin is once again giving reserve driver Felipe Drugovich an appearance, with the 2022 F2 champion replacing Lance Stroll, while another returnee is Ayumu Iwasa at RB. Iwasa drove in his home race weekend in Japan earlier this year and will complete his second FP1 session in place of Yuki Tsunoda.
There’s a third debutant on show on Friday in Abu Dhabi, too, with Williams giving a first FP1 run to young driver Luke Browning. The 22-year-old raced in Formula 3 this year — finishing third in the championship — and then took over fellow Williams young driver Zak O’Sullivan’s seat in F2 for the final three rounds.