Every young driver taking part in Formula 1's FP1 session in Barcelona

Several young drivers will make their presence felt in Friday’s opening practice session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend.

Formula 1‘s mandatory rookie running regulation requires teams to field a driver with fewer than two grand prix starts on four occasions across the season.

Barcelona is a popular choice for fulfilling the obligation as it is a circuit so familiar to every team that the disruption to race-weekend preparation is minimised, and one where meaningful data can still be gathered.

With the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix having been cancelled earlier in the season, several teams arrive here with the requirement still largely unmet, making this particular Friday busier than most.

Below are the drivers joining the regular racers on Friday.

Colton Herta – Cadillac

Colton Herta arrives at Barcelona to made his anticipated grand prix practice debut on a weekend where he will also be competing in Formula 2.

The 26-year-old Californian spent seven seasons in IndyCar with Andretti, becoming one of the series’ most exciting talents before taking the leap in the search of a Formula 1 drive by switching to F2.

Despite his extensive IndyCar record, Herta sits on just 35 FIA superlicence points, five short of the 40 required to race in Formula 1.

He stepped away from IndyCar entirely to join Hitech in Formula 2 and take on a test driver role at Cadillac, the new American constructor that entered Formula 1 this season.

Herta’s F2 season has been far from stellar so far, and he sits 13th in the standings.

Barcelona is the first instalment of four FP1 outings he will complete across 2026, replacing Sergio Perez for the session.

He has been clear that F1 is the priority above all else this year, and Friday morning at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is where that ambition gets its first public airing.

Leo Fornaroli – McLaren

Leonardo Fornaroli has perhaps the most F1 credentials of all the young drivers making their grand prix practice debuts this weekend.

The 21-year-old Italian won the Formula 2 championship with Invicta Racing in 2025, having taken the Formula 3 title the year before – making him only the third driver to achieve back-to-back titles across the two categories, alongside Oscar Piastri and Gabriel Bortoleto.

That pedigree was enough to earn him a place on McLaren’s books.

He joined the McLaren Driver Development Programme in December 2025 and has since served as the team’s reserve driver, completing TPC runs at Barcelona, Silverstone and Austin in the 2023 McLaren before getting his hands on the current car.

Despite the impressive junior record, Fornaroli was unable to secure an F1 race seat for 2026, and his path to the grid remains unclear.

Friday’s session, in which he replaces Lando Norris, is his first opportunity to show what he can do in a more competitive Formula 1 environment.

Ayumu Iwasa – Red Bull

Ayumu Iwasa is one of the young drivers who needs little introduction to Formula 1 machinery.

The 24-year-old from Osaka has been a Red Bull junior since 2021, working his way through F3 and then F2, where he finished fifth in his debut season before improving to fourth in 2023.

He returned to Japan and entered Super Formula, winning the championship in emphatic fashion in 2025.

That title did not translate into an F1 grid spot, leaving Iwasa to continue as test and reserve driver.

He has accumulated a string of FP1 outings for both Red Bull and Racing Bulls across the past two seasons, meaning Barcelona is familiar territory.

He will get his first outing in the RB22 this weekend, replacing Hadjar alongside Max Verstappen.

Fred Vesti – Mercedes

Frederik Vesti is another driver for whom FP1 in Barcelona will be familiar territory.

The 24-year-old Dane has been part of the Mercedes set-up since 2021, accumulating simulator mileage at Brackley for five years.

He finished runner-up in the 2023 Formula 2 series, fighting for the title until the final round, but a race seat did not follow.

Instead, he broadened his horizons, moving into sports car racing in the ELMS and then IMSA while maintaining his reserve driver duties at Mercedes.

He stepped up this season to become Mercedes’ official third driver, a role that has involved simulator work alongside trackside support at race weekends.

He has taken part in several FP1 sessions for the team in previous seasons, meaning Barcelona is far from his first outing.

Vesti will take over championship leader Kimi Antonelli‘s car.

Paul Aron – Audi

Paul Aron’s Barcelona appearance will have the twist that he is arriving as somewhat of a guest.

The 22-year-old Estonian is Alpine‘s reserve driver, yet it is Audi that is handing him the car on Friday, replacing Nico Hülkenberg for FP1 in a cross-team arrangement.

He has previously driven for Sauber (now Audi) on four occasions in 2025, so the relationship is established.

Aron comes from a motor sport family – his father and grandmother both raced, and his brother Ralf is an accomplished driver in his own right.

He spent four and a half years in the Mercedes junior programme before joining Hitech for his F2 rookie season in 2024, finishing third in the championship and earning the Alpine reserve role on the back of it.

Aron was briefly considered for a race seat at Alpine before the team decided to retain Franco Colapinto.

He continues in that role in 2026, accumulating simulator mileage at Enstone while waiting for a race opportunity that has yet to materialise.

Dino Beganovic – Ferrari

Six years into his Ferrari Driver Academy journey, Dino Beganovic gets his first taste of the 2026 car on Friday.

The 22-year-old Swede has been on Ferrari’s books since 2020, working his way steadily through the junior categories, winning the Formula Regional European Championship in 2022, spending two seasons in Formula 3, before graduating to F2 full-time in 2025.

His F2 record is solid but not spectacular. He finished seventh in the 2025 standings with Hitech TGR and is now in his second full season, back at DAMS where he made his F2 debut at the end of 2024.

He has been a regular presence in Ferrari’s simulator, contributing to F1 development work, but Barcelona will mark his first outing in the current car.

He replaces Lewis Hamilton for FP1.

Luke Browning – Williams

Luke Browning is another of this weekend’s FP1 drivers not making their debut in Formula 1 machinery.

Browning has been here before four times, in fact, but Barcelona will be his first experience of the new generation of cars, stepping into Alex Albon’s FW48 for the opening session.

The 24-year-old Briton has been part of the Williams academy since 2023, working his way up through the junior ranks.

He finished fourth in Formula 2 last year with Hitech GP, taking nine podiums including a feature race win at Monza.

He is dovetailing his Williams role with a rookie Super Formula campaign in Japan, where he is eighth in the standings.

Barcelona is the first of two back-to-back FP1 outings confirmed for Browning this month, with a second appearance scheduled in Carlos Sainz‘s car at the Austrian Grand Prix.