Eight teams send rookie drivers out on track in FP1

During the first free practice in Abu Dhabi, eight drivers will relinquish their cars to rookies. Only AlphaTauri and Mercedes will field their two regular drivers during practice. One veteran, an intended future Formula 1 driver, and several rookies making their debut in the sport this weekend. See below who the new names on track will be during FP1.

This season, each team must have a 'rookie' drive at least twice during free practice. Such a rookie must not have driven more than twice in a Grand Prix. There are still a few teams left to comply with this rule and so there will be a lot of new names on the grid during the first free practice on Friday.

Logan Sargeant

Sargeant hopes to become a regular driver at Williams next year alongside Alexander Albon, although it is by no means certain for him yet. Sargeant is still short of points for his super licence and hopes to get another step closer to it during practice in Abu Dhabi. In Mexico, he missed out on crucial points as practice was cancelled early. Should this happen again in Abu Dhabi, it is not yet certain that Sargeant will indeed get his licence in time to drive for Williams next year. However, the team has already announced it will do everything in its power to prevent that from happening.

Jack Doohan

Doohan will drive practice for Alpine for the second time this year. He was something of an emergency move for the French team: the plan was originally to bring in Oscar Piastri for practice, but after the much-discussed transfer to McLaren this summer, that was no longer an option for Alpine.

Doohan began his career in motorsport as part of the Red Bull Junior Team, but swapped that for the Alpine Academy this year. He is currently in his first full season in Formula 2 and is currently fourth there. With one race to go in the championship, he can still move up to second place. It is not yet known whose car Doohan will take over on Friday.

Pietro Fittipaldi

Grandson of two-time F1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi and brother of brand-new Red Bull Junior driver Enzo Fittipaldi. Pietro Fittipaldi obviously comes from a well-known racing family. Fittipaldi will drive for Haas during practice.

Fittipaldi only just counts as a rookie. In fact, he already drove two races for Haas in 2020 after Romain Grosjean was seriously injured in a crash in Bahrain. Both races he finished last. He was a serious candidate earlier this year to replace Nikita Mazepin as a regular driver, until Kevin Magnussen was eventually chosen after all.

Felipe Drugovich

Even though the season is not over yet, Drugovich can already call himself the 2022 Formula 2 champion. In Abu Dhabi, he will not only drive his last race in F2, but will also take a seat in an Aston Martin during first practice. In doing so, he will make his debut in Formula 1.

Drugovich is now in his third season in Formula 2. The first two years he finished ninth and eighth, but so this year he has his title up for grabs, preventing him from returning to Formula 2 next year. He won his title in remarkable fashion: Indeed, Drugovich crashed out in his last race. He won anyway because his challenger Theo Pourchaire finished the race without points. For next year, Drugovich has been confirmed as a reserve driver at Aston Martin.

Pato O'Ward

O'Ward will drive for McLaren during practice, the team he also drives for in IndyCar. His best result in that competition was in 2021, when he finished the season third. Before that, he had driven in the Indy Light competition, where he immediately became champion in his debut season in 2018.

O'Ward was once very close to a seat in Formula 1. In 2019, he was still part of the Red Bull Junior Team and drove some races in Formula 2 and Super Formula with the aim of getting enough points for a super licence. With that, he could then have progressed to Formula 1 in 2020. However, the FIA decided at the last minute to give fewer points for O'Ward's title in Indy Light, making it impossible for him to get his points in time for 2020. In consultation with Helmut Marko, O'Ward then made the switch to McLaren.

Robert Kubica

A rookie by no means is Kubica: he made his debut in Formula 1 back in 2006. That means Kubica will be the most experienced driver on track during free practice when Doohan takes a seat in Fernando Alonso's car. Kubica will drive in Guanyu Zhou's Alfa Romeo.

Kubica's last season in Formula 1 was in 2019, when he drove for Williams alongside George Russell. He finished that season with just one point, after which he decided to leave the team. Since then, he has been a reserve driver at Alfa Romeo and made two more appearances in 2021 as Kimi Raikkonen's replacement.

Robert Shwartzman

We have seen Shwartzman in action before this year, namely at the United States Grand Prix. Shwartzman has been linked to Ferrari for years and will therefore drive for the Italians during practice. A permanent move to Formula 1 seems less likely for Shwartzman by the year. His last title is now from 2019 and last season he did not drive any regular competitions. Still, Shwartzman remains hopeful and recently left critical of Ferrari's handling of him.

Shwartzman has been part of the Ferrari Academy since 2017. In 2019, Shwartzman became champion in Formula 3. In 2020 and 2021, Shwartzman was still racing in Formula 2, as a teammate of first Mick Schumacher and then Oscar Piastri. He finished fourth and second respectively and left F2 at the end of last year.

Liam Lawson

Lawson will take over to Max Verstappen's car during the first free practice session. Lawson is part of the Red Bull Junior Academy and currently races in Formula 2 for team Carlin. In that competition, he is seventh, although he could theoretically finish second in the final race. Lawson is at Red Bull as a reserve driver replacing Juri Vips, who was discredited earlier this year over statements he made during a Twitch stream. Red Bull then sacked him as a reserve driver, but has retained Vips as part of the organisation.