Leclerc brothers to make history and drive together for Ferrari in Abu Dhabi
Charles Leclerc and his younger brother Arthur will make F1 history when they become the first brothers to drive as teammates in an official session.
Arthur, who has spent 2024 as a Ferrari development driver, will step into Carlos Sainz's car for the opening practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday night (AEDT).
F1 rules dictate every full-time driver must give up their seat in at least one free practice session for a rookie driver with less than two grands prix experience.
READ MORE: Mocked Indians ban fans from training sessions
READ MORE: 'Hand was up': Star's hilarious reaction to captaincy snub
READ MORE: Tillies bounce back despite veteran's 'devastating' blow
Charles gave up his seat in Mexico for Oliver Bearman, who was originally slated to take Sainz's seat again in Abu Dhabi, before he drove for Haas in place of an ill Kevin Magnussen in Brazil.
Having already deputised for an ill Sainz in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, and then again for a banned Magnussen in Italy, that third grand prix start meant he was ineligible to drive in Abu Dhabi.
While several sets of brothers have competed in F1 at the same time - most notably the Schumacher brothers Michael and Ralf - never before have two driven as teammates.
The 24-year-old raced in Formula 2 in 2023, where he finished 15th in the standings with 10 points finishes, including a podium in Melbourne.
He has spent the year in a development role for the famous Italian team, whole also racing a Ferrari 296 in the Italian GT championship.
Arthur and Charles Leclerc will drive together as teammates in the opening practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Getty
The first practice session in Abu Dhabi is a popular choice for teams to run a junior driver. The session is run in the middle of the afternoon under the blaring sun, while the grand prix is run under lights, meaning teams gather little relevant information.
Aston Martin will run Jak Crawford, Williams will run Luke Browning, while McLaren will run Ryo Hirakawa in place of Oscar Piastri.
At Alpine, Aussie Jack Doohan will make his grand prix debut in place of Esteban Ocon. He will drive for the team fulltime in 2025.
The first practice session gets underway at 8.30pm (AEDT) on Friday, with the race to get underway at midnight (AEDT) Sunday.
