Formula 1 has a Young Drivers Program mandated for all the teams to follow. Each year, teams need to seat rookie drivers for at least 2 practice sessions throughout the season. The Abu Dhabi GP is often a popular choice for most of the Formula 1 teams. Mercedes and Alfa Romeo will be featuring the two F2 title contenders in their Formula 1 cars. Meanwhile, Red Bull will have rookies in both their cars since they haven’t had a single rookie session yet. Haas will feature the talented Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman once again.
Why Abu Dhabi GP?
The Abu Dhabi GP is the most popular choice for all the Formula 1 teams to fulfill their rookie quota. Why is that?
It is the last race of the season. Most of the championships are generally settled. Even if they aren’t, the teams generally don’t bring any upgrades to this race. Therefore, the drivers don’t lose out on much.
Moreover, at the Abu Dhabi GP, the daytime conditions during FP1 are not representative of the actual racing conditions. Therefore, the data loss for the teams is extremely minimal.
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Meet the 10 Rookies
Mercedes and Alfa Romeo have the most exciting rookies for this test. Mercedes Junior Frederik Vesti and Alfa Romeo Junior Theo Pourchaire are fighting for the F2 title, which will also be decided at the Abu Dhabi GP.
Meanwhile, Red Bull will have a completely different lineup for the Abu Dhabi GP. They will have Jake Dennis, current Formula E champion, and Isack Hadjar. Ferrari will feature Robert Schwartzman once again and Haas will feature Ferrari Junior Oliver Bearman.
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Rounding off the Abu Dhabi GP rookie lineup, McLaren will run Indycar racer Pato O’Ward, Alpine will run their F2 Junior Jack Doohan, Aston Martin will run former F2 Champion Felipe Drugovich, and Williams will back their junior driver, Zak O’Sullivan.
This FP1 session will be a very interesting way to round off the Formula 1 season.
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