Class of Barcelona: Meet the seven rookies taking over FP1
- Kavi Khandelwal
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
As Formula One heads to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the paddock is looking a little different in Free Practice 1.
Seven teams have opted to fulfil their mandatory rookie running obligations this weekend, meaning some of the sport’s most recognisable names will be watching from the garage while a new wave of talent takes the wheel.
Frederik Vesti – Mercedes
The Dane gets into what is the fastest car on the grid. At 24, Frederik Vesti is not exactly a newcomer to F1 machinery – this will be his fifth FP1 outing – but stepping into Kimi Antonelli’s seat, with the championship-leading W16 underneath him, is a different kind of pressure.
Toto Wolff has described Vesti as an important part of Mercedes’ development programme, and his endurance career with Cadillac runs concurrently. His future almost certainly lies outside F1, but his value to Mercedes is real.
Dino Beganovic – Ferrari
The 22-year-old Swede will climb into Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari for his third FP1 appearance, all while navigating a live Formula 2 championship campaign at the same circuit.
Dino Beganovic sits sixth in the F2 standings and is considered one of Ferrari’s two most F1-ready juniors alongside Rafa Camara. With the Scuderia’s race seat unlikely to move any time soon, Barcelona is a shop window as much as a development exercise – a chance to demonstrate pace against a championship benchmark.
Leonardo Fornaroli – McLaren
Leonardo Fornaroli won back-to-back Formula 3 and F2 championships in 2024 and 2025. He did so without being attached to an F1 team for either title run.
McLaren moved quickly after the F2 crown, snapping him up in December and naming him reserve driver for the 2026 season.
Barcelona marks his first experience of a current-generation F1 car at a race weekend, though he has already completed three tests in McLaren’s 2023 challenger, the MCL60, including a run at this very circuit in March.
At 21, he is the youngest driver in the session. He replaces reigning World Champion Lando Norris.
Ayumu Iwasa – Red Bull
The 24-year-old Japanese driver is increasingly becoming Red Bull’s go-to practice driver across its two teams, with five FP1 outings already to his name.
Ayumu Iwasa replaces Isack Hadjar in the RB21 and arrives off the back of a maiden Super Formula title he is currently defending. His profile in F1 machinery is growing, but a full-time seat would seemingly require a change of heart within Red Bull.
For now, he is the most experienced operator in the rookie field, and very much the session’s quiet professional.
Luke Browning – Williams
Williams reserve driver Luke Browning, 24, is dovetailing his Williams role with a rookie Super Formula campaign this year. This weekend, he takes Alex Albon’s FW48 for his first outing in a new-generation F1 car, having made four previous appearances across 2024 and 2025.
He is very clearly the most F1-ready prospect on Williams’ books, and with the team’s current standing on the grid, a future opportunity is not implausible. He will need to make this one count.
Paul Aron – Audi
The 22-year-old Estonian is technically an Alpine reserve driver, but this arrangement sees him loaned out – as it was last year to the team then known as Sauber – to run for Audi in Barcelona and against the Red Bull Ring.
Paul Aron made a strong impression as an F2 rookie in 2024 and has spent the time since being embedded in Alpine’s F1 programme. His path to a race seat at Alpine looks far from straightforward, but the dual-team relationship gives him more track time than most in his position.
Colton Herta – Cadillac
Perhaps the rookie with the most eyes on him in Barcelona will be Colton Herta, the man many believe could be F1’s next American driver.
The 26-year-old will dovetail his first F1 practice outing with the full F2 round at the circuit, a schedule that underlines just how deliberate this entire year has been.
Cadillac’s ambition is clear: the IndyCar-to-F2 switch was always about Super License points, circuit familiarity and paddock integration. Adjusting to F2 has proved tough, and Herta sits only 13th in the standings at present.
But the hype has not gone anywhere, and a strong FP1 run on Friday could remind everyone – teams included – why it was there in the first place.
Seven drivers, seven different stories and a 60-minute window to make them count. Barcelona has always been a circuit that strips away luck and rewards raw pace. On Friday morning, it will do exactly that – just for a slightly different cast than usual.
Edited by Marit Everett
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