Championship frontrunner Kimi Antonelli will be one of five drivers who sit out the opening practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday. Under current Formula 1 regulations each team is required to field a rookie driver in at least two practice runs across the season for each of its cars. Because the Budapest circuit is familiar to the teams and the weekend does not include a sprint race, five outfits have chosen to meet this rookie‑driver quota during the first practice slot.
Antonelli, who currently enjoys a 45‑point lead over Lewis Hamilton and a 50‑point cushion ahead of George Russell in the Drivers' Championship, will hand his Mercedes W17 to reserve driver Frederik Vesti for Friday's opening session. Vesti, the 2023 Formula 2 runner‑up, already piloted Antonelli's car at the Barcelona‑Catalunya Grand Prix last month, so the Italian will not miss any additional practice opportunities beyond this one. The move allows Mercedes to comply with the rookie‑driver rule while giving Vesti valuable seat time in a top‑tier car. "I’m really excited to get back behind the wheel of the W17 and continue building my experience with the car.
It’s a great opportunity and one I’m looking forward to making the most of," Vesti said, underscoring his enthusiasm for the chance to work with a championship‑leading team. Meanwhile, George Russell has yet to allocate a rookie to his car, meaning he will sit out two practice sessions after the summer break, as the rule mandates rookie participation in at least two of the eleven rounds remaining in the calendar. At McLaren, reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli will take his second Friday outing of the season, stepping into Oscar Piastri's seat.
Fornaroli, who captured the Formula 3 title in 2024 and followed it with the Formula 2 championship in 2025, previously drove Lando Norris's McLaren at the Barcelona event. His strong performances have sparked speculation that he could secure a full‑time seat with Haas for the 2027 season, potentially replacing Esteban Ocon.
In June, McLaren loaned the 21‑year‑old Italian to Haas for a TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) session, further fueling rumors about a future Haas contract. Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu commented, "At the moment we are not deciding anything. We're simply keeping the options open. We are not in a hurry, but Leo did a great job [in the test]." Haas will also see its own rookie, Oliver Bearman, miss the first practice in Budapest as Ryo Hirakawa takes his second season outing.
Paul Aron will enjoy his third 2026 practice appearance, this time driving Franco Colapinto's Alpine. Aron was previously loaned to Audi for practice runs in Barcelona and Austria earlier in the year, giving him a breadth of experience across different machinery. Former IndyCar competitor Colton Herta will join the first‑practice lineup as well, taking the wheel of Valtteri Bottas's Cadillac.
Herta's transition to Formula 1 practice underscores the series' growing openness to drivers from other top‑level motorsport categories. The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend is packed with action across the support categories. The schedule includes F3 and F2 practice sessions on Friday, followed by the first Formula 1 practice at 12:30 pm.
Qualifying sessions for the junior formulas and the main Grand Prix are slotted for Saturday, with the race itself taking place on Sunday at 2:00 pm local time. All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, and viewers can stream the coverage via NOW without a long‑term contract. For fans wanting to stay updated, Sky Sports offers a WhatsApp service delivering the latest news, video highlights, analysis and more.
The network also provides a dedicated F1 show and a series of post‑race notebooks that break down the key moments and strategies from each Grand Prix. In summary, the rookie‑driver rule is prompting several teams to rotate fresh talent into their cars during the Hungarian weekend. Antonelli's brief absence, Vesti's return, Fornaroli's second outing, and the involvement of drivers like Hirakawa, Aron and Herta illustrate how teams balance compliance with the regulation while still extracting maximum performance from their primary drivers. The Budapest race promises to be an exciting showcase of both established stars and emerging talents as they vie for points on the historic Hungaroring circuit.