Seven of this season’s 11 teams will field a rookie driver during Friday’s first practice session at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, with Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Williams, Audi and Cadillac all making changes to their line-up for FP1.<\/p>\n
Just like in 2025, F1’s regulations mandate that every full-time driver must make way for a rookie \u2013 viewed as someone who has started no more than two Grands Prix \u2013 in two practice sessions across the season.<\/p>\n
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is regularly used for testing sessions and many junior drivers have experienced racing at the venue in their single-seater careers, making it a logical choice, but who will be out on track this Friday?<\/p>\n
Fred Vesti \u2013 Mercedes<\/p>\n
Replacing Standings<\/a> leader Kimi Antonelli<\/a> during FP1 will be Fred Vesti, who became the Mercedes’<\/a> sole reserve driver for 2026 after spending over five years as part of the Silver Arrows.<\/p>\n After being linked with teams like Williams and Cadillac for a full-time seat in recent seasons, the Dane has turned his attention to endurance racing and currently competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.<\/p>\n He has plenty of experience in practice sessions, having had four outings since 2023, but will face the extra pressure of driving the championship contender’s car as Antonelli looks to once again extend his points advantage this weekend.<\/p>\n Dino Beganovic \u2013 Ferrari<\/p>\n Taking a short break from his Formula 2 campaign \u2013 in which he sits sixth, 20 points adrift of the lead \u2013 Dino Beganovic will replace Lewis Hamilton<\/a> during Free Practice 1 for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old has been part of Ferrari’s Driver Academy since 2020 and will make his third FP1 appearance, having driven in Bahrain and Austria in 2025. Alongside his F2 racing, he has also completed work in the team’s simulator programme, giving him some insight into the characteristics of this season’s cars.<\/p>\n He will arrive in Spain off the back of a hard-fought podium in Monaco, where he executed a thrilling last-lap overtake to secure P3 and his second top-three finish of the year.<\/p>\n Leonardo Fornaroli \u2013 McLaren<\/p>\n Leonardo Fornaroli is one of two rookies set to get their first practice outings on Friday, with the back-to-back junior formulae champion joining McLaren<\/a> after he secured the 2025 F2 title.<\/p>\n Pato O’Ward shares this season’s reserve driver duties with Fornaroli, but this weekend it’s the 21-year-old Italian who will step into Lando Norris<\/a>‘ MCL40.<\/p>\n Fornaroli previously tested McLaren’s 2023 challenger earlier this year at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and raced there in F2 and F3, but this will be his first real-world experience of the 2026 generation of cars.<\/p>\n Ayumu Iwasa \u2013 Red Bull<\/p>\n Getting behind the wheel of Isack Hadjar<\/a>‘s car, Japanese driver Ayumu Iwasa will be in action for Red Bull<\/a>.<\/p>\n Unlike Fornaroli, the Japanese driver is no stranger to FP1 sessions \u2013 this will be his sixth appearance since he was signed to the Red Bull Junior Team in 2021.<\/p>\n Looking to defend his Super Formula title from last season, Iwasa has returned to the Japanese series for a third stint and sits second in the standings, racing for Team Mugen. He balances this with his duties as test and reserve driver for Racing Bulls<\/a> and the Red Bull senior team.<\/p>\n Luke Browning \u2013 Williams<\/p>\n Alex Albon<\/a> will step aside for Williams<\/a>‘ reserve driver Luke Browning during the hour-long session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.<\/p>\n This will be the Briton’s fifth FP1 outing, having previously ticked off appearances in Abu Dhabi at the 2024 finale followed by Bahrain, Mexico City and a second session at the Yas Marina Circuit last season.<\/p>\n After a rollercoaster F2 campaign in 2025, Browning now divides his time between simulator work at Williams’ base in Grove and driving in Super Formula.<\/p>\n Paul Aron \u2013 Audi<\/p>\n Despite officially being Alpine<\/a>‘s reserve driver, Paul Aron will replace Nico Hulkenberg<\/a> at Audi<\/a> during Friday’s FP1.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old made his practice debut with Sauber at the 2025 British Grand Prix after the squad came to an arrangement with Alpine. He repeated this in Hungary before driving for Alpine in Monza, Mexico City and Abu Dhabi before taking part in his second young drivers’ test.<\/p>\n Since finishing third in the 2024 F2 championship, Aron has dedicated his time to Alpine and has earned another appearance in their deal with Audi at the Austrian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n Colton Herta \u2013 Cadillac<\/p>\n The second driver to make his FP1 debut this weekend, Colton Herta will step in for Sergio Perez<\/a> at Cadillac<\/a>.<\/p>\n After gaining extensive experience in IndyCar, the American made a highly-anticipated move to F2 for the 2026 season and currently sits 13th in the standings with 16 points.<\/p>\n