Lewis Hamilton replaced as Ferrari makes Abu Dhabi Grand Prix FP1 announcement

Charles Leclerc will share the track with his brother Arthur for the second time in Formula 1 when the latter replaces Lewis Hamilton in FP1 for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

A year ago, the youngest of the Leclerc brothers drove out of the pit lane at the Yas Marina circuit to become the first siblings to contest a Formula 1 session.

Two Leclercs on the bill for Abu Dhabi FP1

Ferrari driver Leclerc said at the time: “We spoke about it but he’s my brother – I don’t have to speak to him to know what he feels or what he thinks and I know he’s going to do a great job.

“He’s been exceptional on the simulator this year and he has helped us so much. It’s going to be a super good exercise to correlate that with the virtual laps he does quite often on the sim and it’s going to be a very special moment for him. So I hope everything will go well and I’m really happy.”

Arthur finished the session P18, 1.858s off the pace set by his older brother.

This year, the brothers will share the track again when Arthur replaces Hamilton in FP1 in Abu Dhabi.

The 25-year-old is no stranger to Ferrari as, despite leaving its driver academy in 2023, he became a development driver for the Italian team and this year balanced that role with a drive for AF Corse in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup.

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Arthur, though, will not be present at the season-ending test.

The final end-of-year running, where each team can run two cars, one of which will be specially adapted to test the 2026 tyres, will see Charles and Hamilton split the driving duties while the SF-25 in the current configuration will be entrusted to Dino Beganovic as part of the Young Driver Test.

Beganovic has taken part in two FP1 sessions this year, in Bahrain and Austria, where he replaced Leclerc.

Ferrari heads into the season finale guaranteed to finish P4 in the Constructors’ Championship as it trails Red Bull by 44 points with only 43 still in play.

The race, as team boss Fred Vasseur, acknowledged marks the end of a difficult season for the Scuderia who have yet to win a single grand prix.

Looking ahead to Abu Dhabi, Vasseur said: “Abu Dhabi brings a long and challenging season to a close, for the drivers and for everyone in the team.

“At Yas Marina, we will push until the very end, with the whole team aiming to finish the Championship on a positive note.”

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