Here Are The Ten Rookies Running In FP1 At The Abu Dhabi GP

Posted on November 23, 2023 | by Dre Harrison You might remember back in Mexico, we saw nearly half the F1 grid give up one of their cars to a younger driver in their ranks. Well, it looks like everyone in F1 has targeted Abu Dhabi to take it one stage further with TEN driver swaps in FP1! For those who don’t know, every team has to let a young/reserve driver take the seat of each of their cars in practice at least once throughout the season. And with Abu Dhabi’s FP1 taking place in the day and generally unrepresentative for the evening race, teams tend to give one of their cars up here. So here’s a list of the runners and riders who’ll be taking part in Abu Dhabi! JAKE DENNIS A familiar name if you like your electric racing, the 2023 Formula E World Champion with Andretti has long been in the Red Bull family as a simulator and development driver and he’ll make his first appearance in an F1 session here! ISACK HADJAR The French-Algerian teenager returns after his Mexico FP1 with sister team AlphaTauri, doing double duty as he takes part in the Formula 2 season finale with Hitech Pulse-Eight. He’ll be in the Red Bull this time as the team elect to replace both their drivers in FP1 for the weekend!  FREDERICK VESTI  Frederick Vesti is back in the Mercedes camp with a second run this year after taking part in Mexico. The Danish F2 driver with Prema will be attempting to try to hijack the crown from Theo Pourchaire with Vesti 25 points back heading into this weekend’s decider. He’ll be in the test after the weekend too! ROBERT SHWARTZMAN  GT World Challenge Europe racer, 2021 Formula 2 Championship runner-up, Ferrari reserve driver and part-time rapper (Seriously), Robert Shwartzman returns to the Ferrari after filling in at Zandvoort earlier in the season.  PATO O’WARD There’ll be another Mexican in the F1 paddock as IndyCar fan favourite Pato O’Ward will sub in at McLaren for Lando Norris! He was fourth in the standings this year over in the States and will be a popular name many will keep an eye on. (Note: As Oscar Piastri is already a rookie, they’ve only needed to have one replacement for the year) JACK DOOHAN Jack’s back for another run in the Alpine car, his fourth F1 practice session to date. Been a bit of a down year for the 20-year-old Australian and son of MotoGP legend Mick, but is still sitting a solid fourth in the F2 standings this year with Virtruosi. THEO POURCHAIRE Things can only go up for the Frenchman after a horrible Mexico FP1 outing where he couldn’t drive a single competitive lap due to technical problems. But the 2023 F2 Championship leader is back for another go in the Alfa Romeo camp. FELIPE DRUGOVICH Brazilian Felipe Drugovich is back for another go in the Aston Martin AMR23 after filling in at Monza earlier in the season and the Bahrain test after Lance Stroll’s cycling injury. The 2022 Formula 2 Champion has turned down interest from other series like Formula E as he continues to chase the dream of an F1 seat. OLLIE BEARMAN  Ollie certainly turned some heads with a very impressive showing in Mexico’s FP1, running competitively alongside Nico Hulkenberg and he’ll be back in the Haas for Abu Dhabi’s FP1 and