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Piastri on the bench: O'Ward fights for Abu Dhabi victory!
Formula 1 in Abu Dhabi: Piastri looks on while O'Ward acts as a substitute driver in the final training session.
Piastri on the bench: O'Ward fights for Abu Dhabi victory!
The Formula 1 season will make its final stop in Abu Dhabi on December 5, 2025. The first free practice session begins at 10:30 a.m., with Oscar Piastri, one of the three contenders for the world championship title, attending as a spectator. Piastri should actually have been in the cockpit of his McLaren MCL39 himself, but he leaves the wheel to the Mexican Patricio O'Ward.
O'Ward will therefore drive the vehicle instead of Piastri, after replacing Lando Norris in the first training session in Mexico City. Each team is obliged to field a young driver in free practice a total of four times this season, which results in this regulation this year.
Young drivers and their missions
O'Ward himself has emphasized that he wants to do his best to get the race weekend in Abu Dhabi off to a good start. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are fighting for the world title here, which increases the pressure on O'Ward, who will support the two drivers.
The appearances of the rookie drivers in the 2025 season are as follows:
| team | driver |
|---|---|
| McLaren | Patricio O’Ward (Abu Dhabi for Piastri), Alex Dunne (Italy for Piastri and Austria for Norris) |
| Ferrari | Arthur Leclerc (Abu Dhabi for Hamilton), Dino Beganovic (Bahrain and Austria for Leclerc) |
| Red Bull | TBA (Abu Dhabi for Tsunoda), Ayumu Iwasa (Bahrain for Verstappen) |
| Mercedes | Kimi Antonelli (Australia and China, rookie himself) |
| Aston Martin | Cian Shields (Abu Dhabi for Alonso) |
| Alpine | Paul Aron (Abu Dhabi for Gasly) |
| Haas | Ryo Hirakawa (Abu Dhabi for Ocon) |
| Racing Bulls | Ayumu Iwasa (Abu Dhabi for Lawson) |
| Williams | Luke Browning (Abu Dhabi for Albon) |
| Clean | Gabriel Bortoleto (Australia and China, rookie himself) |
The participation of young drivers has proven to be important in the Formula 1 season in order to promote new talent from the lower ranks. However, it remains to be seen how Piastri and Norris, who are both fighting for the title in Abu Dhabi, will experience the situation from the substitutes' bench.