F2’s Oliver Bearman has driven several FP1 sessions for Haas this year as preparation for his move to the American squad in 2025, which will be his first full campaign in F1.
The 19-year-old is not the only rookie to have completed an FP1 session this year though, due to the young driver rule which was implemented for 2022 to speed up the development of those in the junior categories.
FIA rules stipulate every F1 driver must skip an FP1 outing for somebody who has no more than two grand prix starts.
It also says that F1 drivers in their rookie campaign are exempt from this rule, but as every team kept the same line-up for 2024 that does not apply to anybody this year.
So, here is a rundown of where each team stands for this season and who still has to run a rookie in practice.
|
F1 team |
First Young driver and grand prix |
Second Young driver and grand prix |
|
Red Bull |
Isack Hadjar at the British Grand Prix |
N/A |
|
Mercedes |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Ferrari |
N/A |
N/A |
|
McLaren |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Aston Martin |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Alpine |
Jack Doohan at the Canadian Grand Prix |
Jack Doohan at the British Grand Prix |
|
Williams |
Franco Colapinto at the British Grand Prix |
N/A |
|
RB |
Ayumu Iwasa at the Japanese Grand Prix |
N/A |
|
Sauber |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Haas |
Oliver Bearman at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix |
Oliver Bearman at the Spanish Grand Prix |
Red Bull
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Drive 1: Isack Hadjar — British GP — 19th
Drive 2: Not yet run
Red Bull ran its first young driver at the British Grand Prix, as Isack Hadjar replaced Sergio Perez and finished 19th, approximately 1.5s behind team-mate Max Verstappen at Silverstone.
The F2 championship leader also had a hair-raising moment at Turn 2, as Lando Norris locked up into the grass after almost hitting the back of a slow Hadjar, who was contesting an FP1 session for the third time.
Red Bull is yet to run a second rookie in 2024, but last season it took a unique approach by fielding then-28-year-old Jake Dennis in Abu Dhabi, who was the 2023 Formula E world champion.
Mercedes
Drive 1: Not yet run
Drive 2: Not yet run
Mercedes is yet to run any young driver in 2024, but that does not come as a surprise as last year the Silver Arrows waited until the season’s 19th round, the Mexican GP, to field its first rookie. That was the team’s reserve driver Frederik Vesti, who finished 19th in FP1 but still impressed Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after completing a low-speed testing programme where 26 laps were completed.
Vesti next stepped into Lewis Hamilton’s car for the Abu Dhabi GP, where the then-21-year-old finished 12th, 0.743s off team-mate George Russell, amid a promising 2023 as the Dane finished second in the F2 championship.
It is unclear if Vesti, who now competes in the European Le Mans Series, will again take up both young driver slots this year due to Mercedes hotshot Andrea Kimi Antonelli, 17, who will likely move to F1 in 2025.
Ferrari
Drive 1: Not yet run
Drive 2: Not yet run
Ferrari is another team that is yet to field any rookies in FP1 this year, but a lot of the squads wait until after the summer break to do so. The Scuderia was one of them in 2023, as reserve driver Robert Shwartzman’s first practice session was August’s Dutch GP where the then-23-year-old replaced Carlos Sainz before finishing 19th in a difficult session.
Shwartzman, who also competes in the World Endurance Championship, then replaced Charles Leclerc in practice for the Abu Dhabi GP where the six-time F2 race winner came an impressive eighth finishing just 0.027s behind Sainz.
It is likely that Ferrari will opt for a similar approach with Shwartzman starting two FP1 sessions this year, especially when its other junior driver, Bearman, has now signed for Haas.
McLaren
Drive 1: Not yet run
Drive 2: Not yet run
McLaren entered 2023 with one of its mandatory slots already filled, as Oscar Piastri was competing in his rookie F1 season. But now that the 23-year-old is in his sophomore campaign, the British squad will have to field a young driver in two FP1 sessions this year.
It is likely that the opportunity will be given to IndyCar’s Pato O’Ward, who drove for McLaren in FP1 for the 2022 and 2023 Abu Dhabi GPs. The 25-year-old finished 15th in last season’s session and considering his IndyCar commitments for Arrow McLaren, it is likely O’Ward will not feature in FP1 until later this year.
O’Ward shares his reserve driver role with Ryo Hirakawa, who joined the McLaren programme in September 2023. The following month he tested an F1 car for the first time, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the 30-year-old, who has won both the WEC and Super GT titles, also drives an FP1 session this season.
Aston Martin
Drive 1: Not yet run
Drive 2: Not yet run
Aston Martin is the fourth of five teams who are yet to run a rookie in FP1 this season. Like many squads, it ran the same driver in two FP1s last year as 2022 F2 champion Felipe Drugovich first replaced Lance Stroll at the Italian GP.
The then 23-year-old finished 18th at Monza but was praised for doing a solid job after completing 24 laps. He then drove Fernando Alonso’s car at the Abu Dhabi season finale, where Drugovich finished a very impressive second and was only 0.288s off Russell in a session that featured 10 rookies.
Drugovich is still Aston Martin’s reserve driver, a role he holds alongside a campaign in ELMS, so it is likely that he will compete in two FP1 sessions again this year.
Alpine
Jack Doohan, Alpine A524
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Drive 1: Jack Doohan — Canadian GP — No time
Drive 2: Jack Doohan — British GP — 17th
Alpine is one of two teams to have already fulfilled the young driver obligation for 2024. That is because the French squad first ran its reserve driver Jack Doohan in FP1 for the Canadian GP, yet the ex-F2 driver failed to set a time in the red-flag affected session which was also delayed because of rain.
Technically that had no impact on the rule though, because it states a young driver must at least be entered for FP1 — not that they have to set a competitive lap.
Doohan endured much better luck at Silverstone though, as he was finally able to set some lap times and he finished 17th, approximately eight tenths behind team-mate Esteban Ocon.
That was the 21-year-old’s sixth FP1 session of his career, but his two in 2024 potentially mean more because there is a seat available at Alpine for 2025 due to Ocon’s impending departure.
Williams
Drive 1: Franco Colapinto — British GP — 18th
Drive 2: Not yet run
Williams junior Franco Colapinto made his grand prix weekend debut at this year’s British GP, as the 21-year-old finished 18th in FP1 after replacing Logan Sargeant. That came amid Colapinto’s first full F2 campaign, where the Argentinian is currently sixth in the championship and Williams sporting director Sven Smeets said the FP1 call-up was a “reward” for his promising start.
Unlike 2023, Williams must run a rookie in a second FP1 session this season because Sargeant is now in his second year. It is unclear if Colapinto will contest the second session, because last year the team ran fellow Williams junior Zak O’Sullivan in Abu Dhabi practice, where the then 18-year-old finished 18th and was approximately seven-tenths behind Sargeant after replacing Alex Albon.
O’Sullivan, who won the 2021 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award, is currently 10th in F2 after finishing runner-up of the 2023 F3 standings.
RB
Drive 1: Ayumu Iwasa — Japanese GP — 16th
Drive 2: Not yet run
RB has already run one young driver in an FP1 session this year, as Super Formula’s Ayumu Iwasa replaced Daniel Ricciardo to drive in front of his home crowd at the Japanese GP.
It was Iwasa’s grand prix weekend debut and the Red Bull/Honda protege, who finished fourth in F2 last year, came 16th in an error-free session having gone nine-tenths slower than Yuki Tsunoda as part of an all-Japanese line-up.
The Italian outfit still needs to fill its second slot though and if it isn’t Iwasa, it may be Hadjar who finished 17th in FP1 for the 2023 Mexican GP. RB only had to field one young driver in FP1 last season, as Liam Lawson made his grand prix debut in the other car driving at five rounds.
Sauber
Drive 1: Not yet run
Drive 2: Not yet run
Sauber is the fifth team yet to run any young driver in FP1 this year, as part of a disappointing season for the Swiss squad who sit bottom of the championship with zero points. In 2023 it entered Theo Pourchaire for two FP1 sessions, and the Frenchman first endured a disruptive outing in Mexico where he failed to complete a competitive lap, before finishing 14th in Abu Dhabi practice on the weekend he clinched the F2 crown.
However, it is unclear if Pourchaire will contest an FP1 session for the team again this year, with Zane Maloney serving as Sauber’s other reserve driver. The 20-year-old is fourth in his second F2 season and is yet to partake in a grand prix weekend.
Haas
Oliver Bearman, Haas VF-24
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Drive 1: Oliver Bearman — Emilia Romagna GP — 15th
Drive 2: Oliver Bearman — Spanish GP — 19th
Haas is the second team to have already filled both young driver slots, as it continues to prepare Bearman for his F1 drive next year. The 19-year-old, who finished seventh on his race debut for Ferrari in Jeddah, has so far contested four FP1 sessions for Haas this year, beginning with Imola where Bearman finished 15th.
It was a solid session for the Briton who replaced Kevin Magnussen, while Nico Hulkenberg failed to set a representative lap time. Bearman’s next session came in Barcelona where, despite finishing 19th, he was only 0.2s off Magnussen and by the time of his next FP1, he had been announced as a full-time Haas driver for 2025.
The news came just a day before he contested FP1 at the British GP, where in front of a home crowd Bearman finished a solid 14th, half a second off Hulkenberg, meaning he was quickest of the four rookies who took part in that session. Bearman’s last FP1 to date came in Budapest, where he was slowest and just 0.076s behind Magnussen in 19th.