Which rookies will Red Bull, Mercedes and every F1 team give practice sessions to this season?
Future hopefuls who are currently team development drivers, racing in Formula E or F2, all feature among teams’ picks to gain experience
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Your support makes all the difference.Formula One houses some of the very best motorsport drivers on the planet, but as Sebastian Vettel’s retirement reinforces, noBODY can be around forever.
That means a continual emphasis from every team within F1 to develop potential future faces of the sport in their own way, such as through Alpine’s academy setup or Red Bull’s sprawling racing empire.
Regulations in Formula One’s 2022 season also dictate that both named drivers in each team have to allow one free practice session each to a rookie in their car, aiding their experience and on-track mileage in fully functioning F1 vehicles. Those rookies are effectively any driver who has started two Grands Prix or fewer.
Full list of teams and rookie drivers in 2022 FP1 sessions
RED BULL: Juri Vips replaced Sergio Perez at the Spanish Grand Prix in May, but saw his contract terminated as reserve driver after using racist language on a live stream in June.
Max Verstappen is yet to give up his FP1 spot - Liam Lawson is the likely man to fill-in.
FERRARI: Robert Shwartzman is confirmed to be joining FP1 sessions in the latter stages of the season, at the United States GP in Austin and the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP.
MERCEDES: 2021 Formula E champion Nyck de Vries filled Lewis Hamilton’s seat Nyck de Vries filled Lewis Hamilton’s seat in FP1 at the French Grand Prix.
George Russell is yet to give up a first practice slot.
ALPINE: Fernando Alonso nor Esetban Ocon have given up their FP1 slot yet.
Oscar Piastri would have been the obvious fill-in as test driver before he controversially joined McLaren for next year. Jack Doohan and De Vries - if he takes the spare 2023 Alpine seat - could replace Alonso and Ocon in FP1.
McLAREN: Given Piastri is joining next year, McLaren would relish the opportunity to get the Australian in their car this year, but that requires Alpine to release him from his contract early.
IndyCar drivers Pato O’Ward, Colton Herta and Alex Palou are their other options.
ALFA ROMEO: Zhou Guanyu’s first race of the season in Bahrain actually counted as one seat, since this was his rookie campaign.
Teenager Theo Pourchaire is the most likely candidate for the other, with Mexico the likely destination to replace Valtteri Bottas.
HAAS: Pietro Fittipaldi is also an option as he has an allowed two Grands Prix starts to his name.
Antonio Giovinazzi was fielded in FP1 at Monza but does not count as rookie slot due to his previous experience in F1.
ALPHATAURI: Lawson drove in FP1 at Spa and could be the man to fill in again, though it could be De Vries if he joins Red Bull’s sister team next year, with Pierre Gasly’s future uncertain.
ASTON MARTIN: De Vries filled in for Sebastian Vettel at Monza - before he scored points for Williams later in the weekend.
Newly-crowned F2 champion Felipe Drugovich signed for the team’s new Driver Development Programme following his win, and will fill in for Lance Stroll in Abu Dhabi.
WILLIAMS: De Vries actually made his FP1 bow in Barcelona earlier this season, replacing Alex Albon.
American F2 driver Logan Sargeant will replace the outgoing Nicholas Latifi at his home race in Austin.
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