F1 rookie among six driver changes for Austrian GP weekend as FIA rule clarified

A total of six driver changes will be made during the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend as Formula 1 returns following a two-week break.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton won the previous Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix and will look to go back-to-back at the Red Bull Ring.

Hamilton closed the gap at the top of the Drivers' Championship to 41 points to Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who was forced to retire from the Grand Prix due to a late-race mechanical failure.

Barcelona was the scene for a number of driver changes in the first Friday practice in order to partially satisfy an FIA rule.

The rule mandates that each of the 11 teams must field a total of four rookie drivers - two in each car - in a Friday practice session across the 2026 season.

With six sprint weekends and the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, teams have had to be slightly more forward-thinking in terms of when they put their rookie drivers into the car.

A driver is classed as a rookie if they have competed in two or fewer Grands Prix in Formula 1.

That means that, for the Racing Bulls car driven by Arvid Lindblad, the rule does not need to be fulfilled as the 18-year-old rookie met the requirements himself by driving in the opening two weekends of the 2026 season.

Williams, meanwhile, were one of seven teams to announce driver changes in Barcelona, with Luke Browning replacing Alex Albon for FP1.

But Browning's car suffered a mechanical failure and he ultimately did not manage to make it out of the garage.

The FIA have clarified that Browning's appearance in Barcelona does towards the minimum of four for 2026, as there is no minimum lap requirement or track time necessary.

Therefore, Albon will not have to sit out a third practice session - though he wouldn't have competed in Barcelona in any case if he had been in the car.

Austrian GP driver changes in full

Ferrari reserve driver Dino Beganovic will replace Charles Leclerc for FP1 in Spielberg, having taken over Hamilton's car in Barcelona.

The Swede is currently competing in Formula 2 and has two podium finishes to his name this season.

Ryo Hirakawa is in at Haas in place of Esteban Ocon, with the Japanese driver working his FP1 appearances around his full-time commitments in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Paul Aron is back at Audi on what is technically a loan from Alpine, with the French team reaching an agreement to allow him to compete in FP1. He replaces Gabriel Bortoleto.

Jak Crawford, who was runner-up in F2 last season and is Aston Martin's reserve driver, replaces Lance Stroll in what will be his second FP1 appearance of the season.

And a second Japanese driver, Ayumu Iwasa, will take part in FP1 this weekend.

Iwasa is the reigning champion of Super Formula, Japan's leading single-seater championship, and is the reserve driver of both Red Bull and Racing Bulls. He will replace Liam Lawson at the latter on Friday in Austria.