An IndyCar champion, a potential F1 driver and many more – Take a brief look into the multiple rookies who will participate in FP1 at the US Grand Prix
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The rookies who will make their F1 weekend debuts at the US Grand Prix (Pictured, left to right: Théo Pourchaire, Logan Sargeant, Robert Shwartzman, Alex Palou)
There will be a multitude of rookies that will be making their FP1 debuts in Austin, at the upcoming US Grand Prix. This comes about due to the mandatory rule of running a rookie driver – someone who has not competed in more than two Grands Prix – in an FP1 session, at least twice during the season.
No team has completely filled the obligation yet. Alpine, who might have run Oscar Piastri, are left in a bit of an awkward situation, and will likely use Jack Doohan, who is currently 4th in F2. Haas have announced that they will run Pietro Fittipaldi (who had replaced Romain Grosjean for Sakhir and Abu Dhabi in 2020) in Mexico and Abu Dhabi. Aston Martin and Williams both have one left to go, and they will run Felipe Drugovich (in Abu Dhabi) and Logan Sargeant (in the US) respectively.
But Logan Sargeant isn’t the only ‘rookie’ making his FP1 debut in Austin, and without further ado, here are the others:
Ferrari – Robert Shwartzman
Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzman will be among those making his FP1 debut in Austin. There was a fair bit of controversy over his participation due to the situation in Ukraine. He is Russian-born, even if he will compete with an Israeli license now. Shwartzman was second to Oscar Piastri last year in F2 but decided not to continue in the series. Mattia Binotto believes that he deserves to be in F1.
Binotto had earlier said: “I think as a driver he has improved, he has developed his own skills, and today he’s a lot more mature… I think he’s a driver that would deserve a seat. We know it’s very difficult right now in this situation, but hopefully, in the future, that may happen.”
Williams – Logan Sargeant
Logan Sargeant is as of now the best chance for America to have a Formula 1 driver. He is currently third in F2, and in contention for a seat at Williams. But there is a catch. The American needs to finish fifth or above in the championship in order to have the required FIA super license points to compete in FP1. The gap from third to sixth is only 9 points, with just one weekend left to go.
To say that is crucial for Sargeant to do well in Abu Dhabi will be an understatement, and if he is able to ‘stay afloat’ then he is likely the frontrunner for that Williams seat, and team principal Jost Capito had earlier said that he has been impressed by Sargeant. A good test outing in Austin should help his chances.
Alfa Romeo – Théo Pourchaire
Théo Pourchaire is considered a very promising driver, and when the announcement of him getting the FP1 session in Austin finally came, it was widely acknowledged that it had been a long time coming. The 19-year-old is a member of the Sauber academy and is comfortably in second place in F2. The Frenchman massively outscored teammate Christian Lundgaard last year, eventually finishing fifth in his rookie year.
Pourchaire will be replacing Valtteri Bottas in the Alfa Romeo C42, and this session should go a long way towards gathering experience with the new generation of F1 cars, and hopefully, help prepare him for a future seat in Formula 1. Alfa Romeo’s team principal, Frederic Vasseur is in no doubt that Pourchaire will impress them with his performance.
Also Read: Sauber junior Théo Pourchaire to make his FP1 debut at the US GP with Alfa Romeo
McLaren – Alex Palou
Alex Palou is definitely the most impressive of the quartet of rookies making their weekend debut in the US, where he will replace Daniel Ricciardo in FP1. He is the reigning world champion in IndyCar and has been testing the 2021 McLaren MCL35M, along with fellow IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward, who will also be driving an FP1 session in Abu Dhabi.
2022 has not been as successful for the Spaniard as last year. He finished fifth in the championship, 50 points behind champion Will Power, and level on points with Scott McLaughlin. Palou took his only victory in the final race of the season, at the ‘2022 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey’. He also tried to leave Chip Ganassi for McLaren but ended up having to settle for an agreement to test their F1 cars instead.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)