F1 News
Eight new faces during first Abu Dhabi FP1
- GPblog.com
During the first free practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, F1 followers are going to see a lot of different drivers. As many as eight regular drivers will make way for a rookie and, in one case, a very experienced driver.
Many teams have yet to comply with the mandatory rookie rule. Every driver must give up his seat once a season to a rookie. Abu Dhabi is the last race of the season, so this is the last chance to comply with the regulations. Most notable are the drivers taking seats in the Red Bull and Ferrari. Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz will have to watch from the side during FP1, being replaced by Liam Lawson and Robert Shwartzman respectively. Both drivers have already been in action during free practice this season.
IndyCar
McLaren chooses to see a top IndyCar driver at work. Pato O'Ward, active for McLaren in the US championship, replaces Lando Norris. Earlier this season in the United States, McLaren already let Alex Paou, former Indycar champion, drive the car during free practice. New F2 champion Felipe Drugovic will also be on track. The Brazilian has already been confirmed as a test and reserve driver at Aston Martin for next season, and in Abu Dhabi he will make his first metres for his new employer. This comes at the expense of Lance Stroll.
At Alpine, reserve Jack Doohan steps in (again), this time in Fernando Alonso's car. At Haas, we see Pietro Fittipaldi in action once again. He drove two races for the team before, replacing now Mick Schumacher. Also a familiar face is Robert Kubica. The Polish driver is anything but a rookie, but Alfa Romeo has a major sponsor from Poland. With that comes the obligation that Kubica can drive the car from time to time. Zhou will therefore have to miss out on the first practice session.