All teams support plan for post-season rookie drivers’ race

All Formula 1 teams are supporting a plan to arrange a post-season race for rookie drivers in Abu Dhabi, says Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.

The intention behind the proposal is to give junior drivers more opportunities to demonstrate their potential. Wolff said it would not be feasible to hold such a race earlier in the season because any accident damage incurred could affect the world championship.

“We discussed it in the F1 Commission and I think we’re keen in giving rookie drivers more opportunity,” he said.

“The stretch is that if you give it to them on a grand prix race weekend, it’s going to impact the main drivers, or it could impact the main drivers’ performances. If you let them race on a main weekend, it could influence the race result, which could be pretty damaging if you’re fighting for a championship.

“We didn’t find another way of letting them go through this whole sequence of a race weekend, pushing in the car, being able to make comparisons. With a day of racing in Abu Dhabi, they’re all going to be on the same fuel [loads], they’re all going to be on the same tyre and it will be interesting to see how they compare in those respective cars. And the season is finished.”

He pointed out adding an extra race to the 30 held during a season – including sprint events – will put yet more demand on teams’ staff.

“It’s going to be a strain for the team, obviously, because we have another day [of running],” he said. “But we are in the entertainment industry and that’s the best idea so far that we have come up to give them more driving time.”

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Each team has one vote at the F1 Commission, while FOM and the FIA have 10 votes each. Wolff said “there was no one in the room that didn’t support the idea because we have all the same objectives.

“We want to give them more exposure, we want to give them running time and that is where we landed.”

Since 2022, F1 teams have been required to run drivers who have started fewer than three Formula 1 races in at least two practice sessions per year. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur sees little scope to expand that programme.

“We were thinking to give them the opportunity to do more [first practice sessions], but they are doing already 14 [rounds] in F2. On the top of this, we have the sprint races where you can’t give [up] the FP1.

“Plus at some tracks, it’s not easy. We will never give up…