Seven F1 driver swaps set for Barcelona GP weekend, featuring two new faces making their debut!
There will be seven driver changes for FP1 at this weekend’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, including two drivers making their Formula 1 debut.
Under the 2026 rules, each of the 11 teams must give ‘rookie’ drivers—those who have raced in no more than two Grands Prix—a chance to drive in two practice sessions during the season.
In past years, teams usually waited until later in the year, once their spot in the Constructors’ Championship was safer, since letting rookies drive takes valuable practice time away from their main drivers. But it’s also a great opportunity for young drivers to learn what an F1 race weekend is really like.
This weekend’s race at the Circuit de Catalunya will be special, as former IndyCar star Colton Herta will make his first-ever F1 session appearance. After leaving IndyCar at the end of last year, Herta joined F2 for 2026, hoping to earn enough Super Licence points to step up to F1 in the future. He’s currently Cadillac’s reserve driver and will race in FP1 for the American team on Friday.
Herta isn’t the only new face—McLaren’s junior driver Leonardo Fornaroli will also join FP1. The 21-year-old F2 champion will take over from reigning F1 champion Lando Norris on Friday morning.
Luke Browning, who took part in three FP1 sessions for Williams last year, is back this weekend. He’s racing in Japan’s Super Formula now, but since there’s no race this weekend, he’s available for FP1.
Mercedes’ experienced reserve driver Frederik Vesti will also get time behind the wheel, replacing Kimi Antonelli. Antonelli, who leads the Drivers’ Championship by 66 points after winning the last five races, will miss only his second practice session this year.
Lewis Hamilton, currently second in the standings, will sit out too, as Dino Beganovic steps in at Ferrari. Ayumu Iwasa, the Super Formula champion, will replace Isack Hadjar at Red Bull, and Paul Aron will make his debut for the Audi team—who raced under the Sauber name last season—during FP1 in Barcelona.
Normally, this race would be called the Spanish Grand Prix, but that’s changed this year. A new race at the Madrid Circuit will now use the Spanish Grand Prix name starting in September. So, what used to be the Spanish GP is now called the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
The circuit’s contract was set to expire at the end of 2026, but an extension was announced in February, keeping the race until 2032. However, the Grand Prix will only be held every other year—in 2028, 2030, and 2032. Meanwhile, the Madrid GP has a deal running through 2035, which initially cast doubt on Barcelona’s future until the extension was secured.