P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Jake Dennis set for F1 Abu Dhabi FP1 outing with Red Bull
As part of the regulations, all teams are required to have a rookie driver in each car for one FP1 session. However, this year, teams faced challenges in scheduling these sessions due to the specific race events. Qatar, Austin, and Brazil were all sprint events, while Suzuka, Singapore, and Las Vegas were not practical choices. As a result, most teams decided to run their FP1 sessions in Mexico and Abu Dhabi.
In a unique move, Red Bull has decided to have both of its mandatory rookie sessions at the same event. This means that Isack Hadjar will also drive at the Yas Marina track. By doing this, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez won’t have to give up their cars at Perez’s home race in Mexico. The Friday run plan in Mexico is further complicated by the addition of extra tyre testing.
Originally, Red Bull planned to run Liam Lawson, who had driven for them in Abu Dhabi the previous year. However, when Lawson made his third appearance with AlphaTauri in Singapore, he lost his rookie status. As a result, 28-year-old Jake Dennis, who has been a Red Bull simulator driver since 2018, will be taking part in the Abu Dhabi rookie session. Dennis previously drove the RB14 in tests in Spain and Hungary in 2018 and will now have the opportunity to correlate with the current car.
Isack Hadjar, driving for Hitech GP, will also have the opportunity to drive for AlphaTauri in the FP1 session in Mexico before switching to Red Bull for Abu Dhabi. AlphaTauri only needs to deploy one session as Nyck de Vries was a rookie when he drove in the season opener in Bahrain.
Other drivers lined up for rookie tests in Mexico and/or Abu Dhabi include Jack Doohan (Alpine), Frederick Vesti (Mercedes), Oliver Bearman (Haas), Pato O’Ward (McLaren), Robert Shwartzman (Ferrari), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin), and Theo Pourchaire (Alfa Romeo).
Source: motorsport
