As of this year, each team is obligated to give a rookie driver at least two sessions in each of their cars during a free practice session throughout the season. They can put any driver in, regardless of where they’re from. There’s only two rules that apply: the driver has to be in possession of a Free Practice License, and they can’t have completed more than two races in Formula 1. Below is a list of all the drivers who have or will partake in a practice session in 2025.
McLaren
Driver(s): none
Race(s): none
McLaren hasn't announced anyone yet for the FP1 sessions, though it most likely will be IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward. O'Ward has been a loyal member of the McLaren organization for years now and has done a great job at his FP1 outings. The only other likely candidate is Alex Dunne, who recently made the step up to F2.
Red Bull
Driver(s): Ayumu Iwasa
Race(s): Bahrain
Red Bull has put Ayumu Iwasa in Max Verstappen's car in FP1 in Bahrain. Iwasa has been passed over for the step up to F1 by Isack Hadjar, but we'll most likely see him in more FP1 sessions this year. The other main candidate is Arvid Lindblad. In typical Red Bull fashion, they have fast tracked him to a super license, believing him to be the next big thing. Who knows, the way Red Bull is going, we might even see Lindblad in the seat full time by the Spanish GP...
Mercedes
Driver(s): Fred Vesti
Race(s): Bahrain
Mercedes is one of the teams that's in a luxury position. With Kimi Antonelli still counting as a rookie for the first two races, that meant that his car was already done by the Chinese Grand Prix. That leaves only George Russell's car to be taken over twice. That honor was first given to eternal reserve driver Fred Vesti, who took it on in FP1 at Bahrain. With Vesti being the only rookie reserve driver that Mercedes has, it's very likely he'll also do the second outing further down the line.
Ferrari
Driver(s): Dino Beganovic
Race(s): Bahrain
With most of the Ferrari Driver Academy clearing out the last few years and all the regular reserve drivers being too experienced, it left Ferrari with no other choice than to call upon Dino Beganovic, a highly promising driver in F2. But as promising as he is, he is also highly inexperienced, having only done two races in F2 yet. His first session was in Bahrain. Should Ferrari choose not to go with Beganovic for the other sessions, they can also call upon Arthur Leclerc, brother of Charles, or on their loyal WEC driver Antonio Fuoco.
Williams
Driver(s): Luke Browning
Race(s): Bahrain
For the first time in a long while, Williams actually has a highly experienced line-up. No worries for the FP1 sessions though: the Williams Academy is filled with talent. Luke Browning is currently the favorite for a step-up, so he took on the first session in Bahrain. Expect to see him more often this year, though the team can also call upon brand new Alpine runaway Victor Martins, who joined the Williams Academy after just one race this year.
Aston Martin
Driver(s): Felipe Drugovich
Race(s): Bahrain
Felipe Drugovich is back for his fourth year of punching a voodoo doll of Lance Stroll every chance he gets. The F2 champion of 2022 has been patiently waiting for a chance in F1, but it doesn't look like that chance will ever come. So for the time being, he'll have to make do with FP1 outings, the first of which was in Bahrain.
Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich.
Racing Bulls
Driver(s): none
Race(s): none
Racing Bulls is one of the three teams that is lucky in this regard. Just like Gabriel Bortoleto and Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar still counted as a rookie for the first two races of the year. That means it's only the second car that needs to be used for these sessions. Currently that car is occupied by Liam Lawson but who knows what will happen with that. Regardless, the Red Bull family still has some good options for drivers to use in these FP1 sessions. Most likely are Ayumu Iwasa (who already took on one sessions for Red Bull) and Arvid Lindblad, who earlier in the year was fast-tracked to his super license so he could possibly also just take over that second car outright.
Haas
Driver(s): Ryo Hirakawa
Race(s): Bahrain
Toyota WEC-driver Ryo Hirakawa took on FP1 in Bahrain for Haas. As a technical partner of Haas, it makes sense that Toyota also pushes forward its own drivers for these sessions. To call Hirakawa a rookie at 31 years old feels odd, but I'll allow it. The other sessions will probably be shared by Hirakawa and another Toyota driver: F2 driver Ritomo Miyata.
Alpine
Driver(s): Ryo Hirakawa
Race(s): Japan
Ryo Hirakawa took over Jack Doohan's car, and that was the very last thing he did for Alpine given that moments later, he announced he was switching to Haas to become their reserve driver. With Doohan already counting as a rookie for the first practice, that means his car is now done already. Alpine's main reserve driver - Franco Colapinto - no longer counts as a rookie, so they will probably look at Paul Aron and Kush Maini for the remaining two mandatory sessions, both of which will have to be in Pierre Gasly's car.
Ryo Hirakawa drove one FP1 session for Alpine before switching to Haas.
Sauber
Driver(s): none
Race(s): none
Sauber is a little bit lucky, as they only have to use a new rookie twice instead of four times. Gabriel Bortoleto was still a rookie in the first two races of the year, so he already took care of the two mandatory sessions for his car. That leaves the car of Nico Hulkenberg for the other two sessions, but who will take on that car is a very interesting question. The Sauber Academy was wiped completely clean last year and the team hasn't even announced a reserve driver for this year. Last year, they took on Robert Shwartzman, the old favorite of Sauber CTO Mattia Binotto. But with Shwartzman driving in IndyCar this year, that also seems unlikely.