Everything we know about Piastri’s Abu Dhabi GP absence as new driver confirmed

Lando Norris will have a new team-mate at the season-defining Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Everything we know about Oscar Piastri’s absence at Abu Dhabi GP as new driver confirmed

• Session Missed: Oscar Piastri is absent from the Free Practice 1 (FP1) session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He will participate in FP2, FP3, qualifying, and the race.

• Reason for Absence: The absence is mandatory due to a Formula 1 regulation which requires every team to field a ‘rookie driver’ in two Free Practice 1 sessions per car across the season.

• Team Obligation: This FP1 outing is the second and final required rookie session for Piastri’s car in the 2025 season. His team-mate, Lando Norris, has already completed his two required sessions.

• Replacement Driver: The driver confirmed to replace Piastri for the FP1 session is Pato O’Ward, an IndyCar star and McLaren’s test and reserve driver.

• Unideal Timing: The timing is considered awkward as the Abu Dhabi GP is the season finale and a three-way championship decider, making any lost track time potentially disadvantageous for Piastri.

• Minimal Impact Expected: While the missed hour is not ideal, FP1 at the Yas Marina Circuit is often considered unrepresentative of the crucial qualifying and race conditions, which take place later in the day/evening.

• Title Contender: Despite missing FP1, Piastri remains mathematically in contention for the Drivers’ Championship title, although he is the least favoured of the three contenders (Norris, Verstappen, and Piastri).

• Pre-Planned Decision: The decision to utilise the Abu Dhabi FP1 session for the final rookie run was likely a pre-planned strategic choice by the team from earlier in the season.

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