There will be a real debutant parade in the first free practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Arthur Leclerc, along with five other debutants, will wear overalls for the first time in his career during a real Formula 1 race weekend.
This season, many teams have delayed compliance with the rules until the last minute, resulting in this unusually high number of first appearances. Get used to it, because from 2025 onwards, this will change. Due to stricter regulations, every team will have to provide two-to-two free practice sessions for each driver for their debutants, meaning there will be more and more new faces on the tracks for the FP1 sessions. And who will be there for us to see now?
Here is the list:
Red Bull Racing: Isack Hadjar instead of Max Verstappen
Scuderia Ferrari: Arthur Leclerc instead of Carlos Sainz
McLaren: Ryō Hirakawa instead of Oscar Piastri
Aston Martin: Instead of Lance Stroll, Felipe Drugovich
Racing Bulls: Instead of Yuki Tsunoda, Ayumu Iwasa
Williams: Luke Browning instead of Alexander Albon
