Friday practice at the Austrian Grand Prix is going to look a little unfamiliar. Five regulars are being shown the door for FP1, replaced by rookies as part of the FIA’s mandatory young driver rule. Ayumu Iwasa, Jak Crawford, Luke Browning, Paul Aron and Ryo Hirakawa will each take to the Red Bull Ring in someone else’s machine. Mandatory? Yes. Awkward for some of those being displaced? Absolutely.
The Rule Nobody Really Fights Anymore
Since 2025, F1 teams have been required to field a rookie in four FP1 sessions per season, twice per car. A rookie, in FIA terms, is a driver who has started no more than two grands prix. It is designed to give young talent meaningful track time. Whether it actually fast-tracks careers or just generates useful tyre data on a Friday morning is a debate for another day.
Arvid Lindblad at Racing Bulls is the only full-season rookie who satisfies the rule himself, meaning his two earliest race appearances already ticked the box on one side of the Racing Bulls garage.
Who Is Driving, and Who Is Watching
Ayumu Iwasa steps into Liam Lawson‘s car at Racing Bulls. The Japanese driver already impressed in Barcelona, subbing for Isack Hadjar at Red Bull Racing and looking composed throughout. Austria will be his first taste of the Racing Bulls machinery in 2026. Lawson, for his part, simply has to wait. This is the first of two sessions he will miss this year.
Jak Crawford takes over Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin for the second time this season, having already run in Japan. He also completed a Pirelli tyre test in Barcelona recently, so he is hardly short of miles. Four FP1 outings into his relationship with the team, Crawford is quietly building something.
Luke Browning returns to the Williams FW48, replacing Carlos Sainz. The young Briton ran for Williams in Barcelona earlier this year. Clean sessions, consistent feedback, no drama. Exactly what a junior driver needs to keep the seat warm in the right direction.
Paul Aron is back inside the Audi R26, replacing Gabriel Bortoleto. The Alpine reserve was sixth in Barcelona’s FP1, quicker than Bortoleto’s teammate Hulkenberg on the day. Audi still has no official reserve driver of its own, so Aron’s loan arrangement remains a sensible patch on a notable gap.
Ryo Hirakawa gets his opportunity at Haas, taking Esteban Ocon’s car. As Haas‘s reserve driver, the Le Mans winner will be looking to gather data and demonstrate he belongs in this paddock. Haas confirmed the Hirakawa appointment earlier this week.
Reading Between the Lines
Lawson losing his FP1 seat is the subplot worth watching. He sits tenth in the drivers’ standings, and reports of Nikola Tsolov closing in on a Racing Bulls seat for 2027 have not gone away. One missed practice session is nothing on its own. The bigger picture, though, is getting sharper by the week.
Five rookies, five different stories. One mandatory rule doing exactly what it was designed to do. Whether any of these young drivers convert Friday minutes into something lasting is the only question that actually matters.
