The teams of Formula 1 They are obliged to give up the seat of each of their two official drivers at least once throughout the season to be occupied by a rookie driver (a driver who has not competed in more than two F1 races). Therefore, in F1 Abu Dhabi GP 2023 There will be some unique first free practice sessions. In total, there will be 10 official drivers who will have to leave their steering wheel on Abu Dhabi FP1 to young pilots.
Because of this, among the pilots who will not be able to participate in Abu Dhabi FP1 would be the current king of F1, Max Verstappen, his teammate ‘Checo’ Pérezas well as other big names like the 7-time champion Lewis Hamilton, the two-time champion Fernando Alonso, or the leader of McLaren, Lando Norris.
The place of Fernando Alonso the Brazilian will conquer it Felipe Drugovich, Formula 2 champion in 2022 and currently reserve driver for Aston Martin, a team where he had to solve a difficult situation at the beginning of the course, having to urgently replace Lance Stroll in the preseason tests this year 2023 due to the Canadian’s injury during a cycling accident . Drugovich has already participated in Free Practice 1 of the F1 Italian GP, takes it´s place in the place of Fernando Alonso in order for Aston Martin to comply with the FIA obligation.
Drivers who will not participate in Free Practice 1 in Abu Dhabi
Drivers who will not participate in Free Practice 1 of the Abu Dhabi GP and their replacements:
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull): He was replaced by Isack Hadjar
- Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez (Red Bull): He was replaced by Jake Dennis
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): by Frederik Vesti
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): by Felipe Drugovich
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): by Robert Shwartzman
- Esteban Ocon (Alpine): by Jack Doohan
- Lando Norris (McLaren): by Pato O’Ward
- Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo): by Theo Pourchaire
- Nico Hülkenberg (Haas): by Oliver Bearman
- Alexander Albon (Williams): by Zak O’Sullivan
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
