Lewis Hamilton replaced by Ferrari at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Photo: Race Pictures
Updated:
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Kada Sárközi joined GPblog as an editor ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season. He graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in the UK and has covered Grands Prix and other F1 events live.
Lewis Hamilton will not drive during the first free practice session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ferrari confirms.
The seven-time world champion will not drive the SF-25 in FP1 of the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Each year, a full-time driver must give up his car in two FP1 sessions to a driver with no more than two Grands Prix of experience.
Therefore, in Abu Dhabi, the British world champion will sit out FP1 for the second time in 2025. Charles' brother, Arthur Leclerc will drive the Briton's car.
Hamilton previously missed FP1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix, while Charles Leclerc did not drive in Bahrain and Austria.
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Hamilton driving the SF-25 in Qatar - Photo: Race Pictures
Hamilton won’t be the only full-time driver sitting out the session. Oscar Piastri will be replaced by Pato O'Ward, while fellow world champion Fernando Alonso will hand his AMR25 over to Cian Shields.
Leclerc brothers to share the stage together once again
In 2024, the two brothers already completed an FP1 session together at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Arthur Leclerc said: "Charles and I are very happy to be driving again together in FP1. It’s very exciting to be in a car on the other side of the garage from him.
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"From a technical point of view, driving the car on track is always useful for us drivers who mainly support the team with our work in the simulator back in Maranello. It helps us to give better feedback to the engineers."
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A total of nine full-time drivers will not participate in the session at the Yas Marina Circuit.
| Team | Replaced driver | Driver in action |
| McLaren | Oscar Piastri | Pato O'Ward |
| Ferrari | Lewis Hamilton | Arthur Leclerc |
| Red Bull | Yuki Tsunoda | Arvid Lindblad |
| Williams | Alexander Albon | Luke Browning |
| Aston Martin | Fernando Alonso | Cian Shields |
| Aston Martin | Lance Stroll | Jak Crawford |
| Haas | Esteban Ocon | Ryo Hirakawa |
| Racing Bulls | Liam Lawson | Ayumu Iwasa |
| Alpine | Pierre Gasly | Paul Aron |
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