Four new faces and the return of Giovinazzi. An unconventional driver line-up for the first practice session in Austin

This Formula 1 season, all teams are required to field a rookie in at least the first two practice sessions. And four teams have chosen the upcoming Grand Prix to partially fulfill this requirement.

A logical choice. Based on the new rule on mandatory deployment of rookies in free practice, which the International Automobile Federation (FIA) came up with before this season, a number of teams are using the US Grand Prix to fulfill it. Why?

It is the race weekend at Circuit of The Americas that will offer an extended second practice session that will last 90 minutes instead of the usual 60.

Logan Sargeant will sit in Nicholas Latifi’s Williams for the opening hour. The Williams junior will look to impress team boss Jost Capito in front of the home fans.

In fact, there is still one open seat on the team for next season after Latifi’s end was confirmed. If the twenty-one-year-old finishes third in the F2 championship, he will have enough points for a superlicense and will become one of the main candidates to fill the empty seat.

Another youngster from the Formula 2 ranks who will be making his debut in Austin is Theo Pourchaire. The talented French driver will be in the car of Valtteri Bottas. He also signed a contract with Alfa Romeo and will be their reserve driver in 2023.

Daniel Ricciardo will be replaced by last year’s champion of the American IndyCar racing series, Álex Palou, in the McLaren. He is one of only two IndyCar drivers to take part in this year’s Formula One weekend. The other will be Mexico’s Patricio O’Ward in Abu Dhabi.

Ferrari will put the Russian-Israeli driver Robert Schwartzman in its monoposto. Last year’s F2 runner-up is currently not racing and is only a development driver for the Maranello-based stable.

Antonio Giovinazzi is the last replacement driver to appear on the track. He’ll be driving Kevin Magnussen’s Haas. The Italian driver has a wealth of Formula One experience, having completed 62 races for Sauber/Alfa Romeo. But because of that, he can’t be counted as one of the “rookies”.

Pietro Fittipaldi will do the job for the American team. The Brazilian driver has already raced in two Grands Prix, but that is exactly the limit that classifies him as a “rookie”. He will be in the VF-22 in Mexico and Abu Dhabi.

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