After the FIA introduced the mandatory rule for rookie drivers to play at least two official free practice sessions with Formula 1 teams in the 2022 season, some have had the opportunity to get into a single-seater from the highest category of motorsport .
At the start of the year, few teams were in a hurry to put a rookie in their car, as they felt their drivers needed as much mileage as they could get from the new current generation single-seaters. Some have maintained that philosophy, since they are involved in tight battles in the constructors’ championship and, in addition, the budget limit makes it necessary to be more cautious when putting rookies behind the wheel due to possible accidents that generate costly damage, such as It happened with Alfonso Celis and Force India in Mexico in 2017.
The teams only have six Grands Prix left to line up the rookies on Fridays, and since Brazil is a weekend with the sprint format, where FP1 and qualifying are followed up, nobody will do it there.
That leaves only five events, including Singapore , with the obvious risk of being an urban track, in addition to the fact that it has not been competed there since 2019 and the drivers will have to adapt to the conditions of the Marina Bay with these single-seaters.
Japan is rarely used to put rookies behind the wheel due to the characteristics of the track, narrow and fast, and they have also not visited it since that course before the pandemic, so it is ruled out again (although some greats made their debut in Suzuka , like Max Verstappen with Toro Rosso in 2014).
One more challenge, both for the appointment in the country of the Rising Sun and in Austin, is that they have been the circuits chosen for the tests of the 2023 Pirelli tires in an FP2 session extended to 90 minutes, so, if the starters miss the first practices, but on the other hand they are obliged to do the tire tests, the teams’ plan is complicated.
The company that supplies the wheels is keeping Mexico as a reserve in case one of the other test sessions is affected by rain, but otherwise Mexico is likely to be one of the venues for the rookies.
In Abu Dhabi there are sure to be a lot of rookies in FP1, simply because it is the last chance to meet the rule, and the teams consider the Yas Marina relatively safe because of its runaways and there is less pressure because there are no more races afterwards.
The complication comes for those who are in Formula 2, who have to deal with the end of the campaign in a very tight fight with their rivals. Teams don’t like a rookie jumping from one car to another in the same weekend, although Liam Lawson did it at Spa-Francorchamps with AlphaTauri.
This is what the teams have done so far and what they have in their plans until the end of 2022:
Mercedes and its rookie tests in the 2022 F1 season
Nyck de Vries replaced Lewis Hamilton in France, and the Dutchman is willing to do one more session for Mercedes, but if he signs a contract for 2023 with another team, the other team will surely want him to participate with them.
Red Bull and its rookie tests in the 2022 F1 season
Juri Vips completed an FP1 session with Red Bull in Spain, before being sacked by the energy drink company a few weeks later. Liam Lawson is likely to take control of Verstappen’s car, although it is also among the plans that he test the AlphaTauri again.
Ferrari and its rookie tests in the 2022 F1 season
Robert Shwartzman has been working on the simulator for Ferrari, and has reaped his reward by doing FP1 in Austin and Abu Dhabi. It will be the first time that the Italian team will use a third driver on a weekend in 2022.
Alpine and its rookie tests in the 2022 F1 season
Oscar Piastri was supposed to get behind the wheel of the Alpine in the corresponding FP1, but for obvious reasons plans have changed. Jack Doohan , who will be in the 2021 car in Hungary, is the logical choice for both sessions, and remains a candidate to fill the gap next season. However, if de Vries gets the seat, he could be the one to get in the car.
McLaren and its rookie tests in the 2022 F1 season
In Woking they are not clear either, since they want to put Piastri, but only if Alpine releases him from his commitments. However, they have Colton Herta , Patricio O’Ward and Alex Palou in IndyCar, and they all already have experience with a Formula 1 single-seater and are qualified to test in official free practice. McLaren CEO Zak Brown had hinted that the Mexican would be in his country, but none of the three are guaranteed a place.
AlphaTauri and its rookie tests in the 2022 F1 season
Liam Lawson drove for the team at Spa, and is preparing for another session. However, plans could change if the team signs de Vries, and it would make sense to give him mileage.
Aston Martin and its rookie tests in the 2022 F1 season
The team did not have its own young driver programme, so it agreed to use de Vries, a shared reserve with Mercedes, at Monza. However, that weekend the team reached an agreement with Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich to be their development driver and get behind the wheel in Abu Dhabi.
Williams and his rookie tests in the 2022 F1 season
Like Aston Martin, they had de Vries in their car, although it was in Spain that he took to the asphalt, and that preparation was the unexpected preview of his great performance in Italy. The team confirmed a few weeks ago that Logan Sargeant would drive in Austin, his home, so the plans are closed in Grove.
Alfa Romeo and its rookie tests in the 2022 F1 season
The Swiss read the FIA regulations well and the federation accepted that Guanyu Zhou, who was making his Formula 1 debut in Bahrain, had FP1 as his debut and that he counted as a rookie. Théo Pourchaire will be with the team in the United States and Mexico, and it is expected that he will replace Valtteri Bottas in one of those appointments, with the Autodromo de los Hermanos Rodríguez being the most likely option so that they do not have to come across the Pirelli tire session in 2023.
Haas and his rookie tests in the 2022 F1 season
The Americans haven’t confirmed their plans yet, but unless something big happens, Pietro Fittipaldi will make Haas stick to the rules. However, he won’t be able to do so in Austin as Antonio Giovinazzi will be driving for them there, and leaving both starters out of FP1 at their home race could be a step backwards.
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