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Verstappen will miss FP1 in Abu Dhabi, Red Bull appoint a replacement
- Corwin Kunst
The final weekend in Abu Dhabi will be a little (60 minutes) shorter for Max Verstappen. The Dutchman will not participate in FP1, giving up his seat for one of the two mandatory rookie outings. F2 driver Isack Hadjar will sit in the RB20 of the recently crowned champion.
Red Bull Junior Isack Hadjar gets the chance to gain experience and to also show his talents in the RB20 at an official race weekend. This season, every driver has to give up their seat on one occasion.
For Hadjar, the stakes are also high. For now, it is still unclear how the seats at Red Bull Racing and Visa Cash App RB will be allocated. The Frenchman himself already declared that he is "next in line" should Sergio Perez be let go by the Austrians. Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson could then get promoted, while Hadjar would then step in at VCARB. However, the youngster also has competition from Williams driver Franco Colapinto.
It will not be his first time stepping into an F1 car during a first free practice session for Hadjar. Last year, he made his debut in Mexico driving an AlphaTauri, and this year, he already stepped into Perez's RB20 during FP1 at Silverstone.
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sárközi
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