The F1 rookies in action during Bahrain GP free practice

No less than six rookies will take to the track during first practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix, with last week's race winner Max Verstappen one of the regular drivers sidelined.

Verstappen will give up his seat to Ayumu Iwasa, one of the drivers from the Red Bull Junior Team. He has already had the opportunity to drive the Racing Bulls car twice in 2024, but now he gets the chance at Red Bull.

Among the rookies is also Dino Beganovic, a talent from the Ferrari Driver Academy. For the Swede, it is a special moment as it will be his debut during a Formula 1 race weekend. He will replace than Charles Leclerc.

Russell and Alonso make way for F2 champions

Frederik Vesti had already participated in a FP1 session for Mercedes and can now return to action in Bahrain. The 2023 Formula 2 champion will take the seat of team leader George Russell in Bahrain. Fernando Alonso will make way for another former F2 champion, Aston Martin test driver Felipe Drugovich.

Ryo Hirakawa and Luke Browning complete the list of rookies for FP1. Hirakawa will make his official Formula 1 debut for the Haas team driving Oliver Bearman's car having driven the Alpine in Japan, while Browning will take Carlos Sainz's seat at Williams.

The First Free Practice for the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix will take place on Friday, April 11 from 12:30 to 13:30 GMT. The complete schedule for the race weekend can be found here.