F1 young drivers to have driven in FP1 during the 2024 season

Andrea Kimi Antonelli made his debut at an F1 weekend by contesting FP1 for Mercedes at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix.

The 18-year-old, who will replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton at the Silver Arrows in 2025, was on track for just 10 minutes before spinning into the barrier at Parabolica. 

Mercedes was still left impressed by its youngster, who had previously set the fastest lap of the session before his incident. 

Analysis discovered that the car and tyres could not handle Antonelli’s speed at Turn 11 with data showing he had hit minimum speeds of 190km/h through the Ascari Chicane  - over 10km/h quicker than the likes of Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc.  

Antonelli's outing was part of F1's young driver rule, which was implemented for 2022 to speed up the development of those in the junior categories.

FIA rules stipulate that every F1 driver must skip an FP1 session during a season for somebody who has no more than two grand prix starts.

F1 drivers in their rookie campaign are included in this rule, meaning neither Oscar Piastri or Logan Sargeant missed an FP1 session in 2023.

Several other rookies have enjoyed an FP1 outing in 2024 including Oliver Bearman and Jack Doohan, who will be on the grid next year with Haas and Alpine respectively. 
 
So, here is a rundown of where each team stands for the season and who still has to run a rookie in practice. 

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 GP, as Isack Hadjar replaced Sergio Perez and finished 19th, approximately 1.5s behind team-mate Verstappen at Silverstone.

The F2 championship leader also had a hair-raising moment at Turn 2, as 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: Andrea Kimi Antonelli - Italian GP - 20th
Drive 2: Not yet run

Antonelli's FP1 at Monza came less than 24 hours before Mercedes announced him as George Russell's team-mate for the 2025 F1 season. That was the first time this year the German marque had run a rookie in FP1 and it is likely that Antonelli will replace Hamilton for a session later in the season.

Mercedes also waited until the latter part of 2023 to run a rookie in FP1, as the first time it happened was at the season's 19th round, the Mexican GP, where reserve driver Frederik Vesti finished 19th but still impressed team boss Toto Wolff after completing a low-speed testing programme where 26 laps were completed. 
 
Vesti next stepped into 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. 

Ferrari

Drive 1: Not yet run
Drive 2: Not yet run

Ferrari is one of three teams yet to field any rookies in FP1 this year but in 2023, it also waited until later in the season to run a young driver.

It first happened at last August's Dutch GP, where reserve driver Robert Shwartzman replaced Carlos Sainz and finished 19th in a difficult session.

The 2021 F2 championship runner-up, who now competes in the World Endurance Championship, then replaced Charles Leclerc in practice for the Abu Dhabi GP where the then 23-year-old 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 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.

The first opportunity will be given to IndyCar's Pato O'Ward, who will drive in front of his home crowd at the Mexican GP. This will be his third FP1 appearance after driving for McLaren at the 2022 and 2023 Abu Dhabi GPs, where he finished 18th and 15th in the respective sessions. 

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 third team 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 reserve driver Doohan in FP1 for the Canadian GP, yet the ex-F2 star 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. The 21-year-old could see further FP1 sessions this season after being announced as Ocon’s replacement in 2025, with the Frenchman heading to Haas. 

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 Sargeant. It came amid Colapinto’s first full F2 campaign, he was sixth at the time, and Williams sporting director Sven Smeets said the free practice call-up was a “reward” for his promising start. 
 
It was previously unclear if the Argentine would contest the second session as the team ran fellow junior Zak O’Sullivan in the 2023 Abu Dhabi FP1, but ahead of the Italian GP Colapinto replaced the underperforming Sargeant as Alex Albon's team-mate for the rest of the year.

This means Williams must run a second young driver before the season ends because Albon is yet to skip an FP1 session in 2024. So this will likely go to O'Sullivan, who won the 2021 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award and is currently 13th 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: Robert Shwartzman - Dutch GP - 16th
Drive 2: Not yet run

Shwartzman drove for Sauber in FP1 at the 2024 Dutch GP, replacing Valtteri Bottas. The session was fraught with changing track conditions, including an early rain shower, and was described by Pierre Gasly as “pretty wild”.

Strong winds and standing water made the session difficult but the Russo-Israeli driver was able to finish above both Alpine drivers, Sargeant and Ricciardo. 
 
In 2023 it entered reserve driver 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. Zane Maloney may be another option, as he is Sauber’s other reserve driver while contesting his second season in F2 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 has 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.