Max Verstappen will be sidelined during the first free practice in Bahrain. The Red Bull driver will have to relinquish his RB21 for an hour to reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa, who will be making his debut for the Austrian racing team. Verstappen is certainly not the only driver entering the Grand Prix weekend in Bahrain with an hour less of training. Several teams are opting to let a rookie drive the first free practice this coming weekend.
The Bahrain International Circuit was also the venue for this year’s winter testing days, so the drivers are already familiar with the circuit. Many teams are therefore choosing to put a rookie in the cars for the first free practice, including Red Bull. The racing team is thus letting Max Verstappen stand on the sidelines for an hour.
This year, for the first time, the teams must give a rookie the opportunity to drive a free practice four times, twice per car. This is a doubling compared to previous years. Since Bahrain is already familiar territory for the regular drivers, almost all teams are choosing to hand over the cars to a debutant during the first free practice this weekend.
Multiple rookies in Bahrain
In addition to Iwasa for Red Bull, Luke Browning (Williams), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin), Ryo Hirakawa (Haas), Dino Beganovic (Ferrari), and Frederik Vesti (Mercedes) will also be in action in Bahrain. The 23-year-old Iwasa has been part of the Red Bull training team since 2021 and drove for the racing team in Formula 2. During the GP Japan this year, the Japanese driver drove a first free practice in the Racing Bulls car.
