A seat on the Formula 1 grid is one of the most coveted spots in all of motorsport.
With only 20 drivers on the grid each season, cracking a driver line-up is a tough job. But with so many young drivers proving themselves in the lower ranks, finding an open seat, and even more so, an opportunity to show they can perform at a higher level, is a tough task in the sport. With three rookies already confirmed for next season (Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes, Oliver Bearman at Haas and Jack Doohan at Alpine) and the possibility of others joining from Visa Cash App RB F1 Team and Sauber, there are also some young drivers set to move up for 2025.
Still, F1 is looking for more ways to give promising drivers a chance to showcase their talents, with momentum building towards a post-season race for rookies following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Currently, teams must allow their rookie drivers (those who have competed in fewer than two Grands Prix in their career) to practice in FP1 during a season. Each team must allow their rookie driver to do two FP1 sessions during a season, and as each of the team's current F1 drivers must miss one session, no driver can be asked to miss two.
While this is a good step, F1 is exploring more options for young drivers, which has led to the idea of post-season sprint races that would give rookie drivers a chance to prepare for racing in F1 conditions.
During the FIA press conference Ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, Toto Wolff, Frédéric Vasseur and VCARB's Peter Beyer have all voiced their support for the idea, with the Mercedes boss indicating he has the full backing from his team.
“Well, we talked [the rookie sprint race] “I'm a member of the F1 committee and I want to give more chances to rookie drivers. If you give a rookie driver a chance on a Grand Prix race weekend, it could affect the main driver or affect their performance. If you let a rookie driver race on a main weekend, it could affect the race result and it could be pretty damaging if you're fighting for the championship,” Wolff said. “So I couldn't find any other way to let them go through the sequence of a race weekend, push the car and be able to compare. Because on the one race day in Abu Dhabi, they're all going to be on the same fuel. They're all going to be on the same tyres. It'll be interesting to see how they compare with their respective cars. And the season is over. It's going to be a strain on the teams because there's still one day. But we're in the entertainment business and it's the best idea we've ever come up with to give them more driving time.
“I don't think there was anybody who wouldn't support the idea because we all have the same goal: We want to give them more exposure, we want to give them airtime, that's what we came down to.”
Wolff's comments are interesting given the first practice session at Monza last week, when the team asked Antonelli to drive George Russell's W15 during FP1, but after a heavy impact on the first lap, Antonelli spun into the barriers at around 52G, ending the session and causing significant damage to Russell's car.
Wolff's Ferrari colleagues echoed similar sentiments.
“Yes, with the current regulations and the three-day winter test, it's not easy to give them mileage. On top of that, we would have liked to give them more FP1s, but they've already done 14 races in F2, plus there are sprint races where you can't give them FP1,” Vasseur said. “And it's not easy at some tracks. We would never abandon FP1 in Singapore, Monaco or Baku. I mean, at the end of the day, there aren't that many opportunities to give them the opportunity to test the car in real conditions, outside the TPC system. And I think this opportunity would also be a good opportunity to give them a whole weekend with the quality of free practice and starts. So, it's certainly not easy to organize, but I support it.”
Bayer, the VCARB CEO, agreed with the other two executives.
“I think if you look at how well the pyramid works today between karting, F4, 3 and 2 single-seaters, you can see how much talent is coming out. And obviously there are only 20 seats at the top, so it's very complicated for them to show their skills and compete in FP1 at the same time… I mean, as Toto said, it's Kimi's first FP1, there are big expectations and everyone is watching,” Beyer said. “You don't actually know what tyres he's going to race on. Sometimes there's an accident, like last week, and they give you five minutes of track time. So I think it's great to be able to reach out to that young fan base that we're passionate about and we'll definitely support them overall.”
Next season they will be joined by Gabriel Bortoreto and there could be more rookies on the grid. He has been reported as a potential candidate for a seat at Sauber. Then there's Liam Lawson, who is vying for a VCARB spot, and while Lawson isn't technically a rookie, he'd be another young driver to add to the list of contenders given he was on the grid last year as a replacement for the injured Daniel Ricciardo.
Still, breaking onto the F1 grid is a daunting task and the sport is now looking at new ways to give young drivers a chance to prove themselves on the race track.
