Ferrari Confirms Beganovic to Replace Leclerc in Austrian GP FP1

Ferrari has confirmed that Formula 2 racer Dino Beganovic will replace Charles Leclerc for first practice at the Austrian Grand Prix, his second FP1 outing of 2026. The move comes two weeks after Beganovic deputized for Lewis Hamilton in Barcelona, where the seven-time champion ended a nearly two-year win drought.

Why it matters:

F1 regulations require teams to field rookie drivers in four FP1 sessions each season, two per car. With Beganovic using one of Leclerc's allocated slots, both Ferrari drivers must still sacrifice one more Friday session across the final 14 rounds, complicating preparation at a time when Leclerc is fighting to rediscover his early-season form.

The details:

• Beganovic is no stranger to the Ferrari cockpit, having deputized for Leclerc in Bahrain and Austria in 2025 and for Hamilton in Barcelona this month. He logged an eighth-place finish in that session, roughly 0.9 seconds off Leclerc's pace.
• Austria will host a busy rookie field on Friday, with Jak Crawford replacing Lance Stroll at Aston Martin, Luke Browning stepping in for Carlos Sainz at Williams, and Paul Aron driving Gabriel Bortoleto's Audi.
• The driver swap lands amid contrasting fortunes within the garage. After podiums in Australia and Japan, Leclerc has crashed in Monaco and Barcelona qualifying, while Hamilton has surged on the back of a brake material setup favoring longtime supplier Brembo. Leclerc, by contrast, trialed rival Carbone Industrie discs in Spain.
• Leclerc's recent dip follows a new Ferrari contract extending beyond 2030, making him the first driver on the grid to commit to a team past the current decade.

What's next:

Leclerc needs a clean weekend at the Red Bull Ring to halt his slide and match Hamilton's pace. Ferrari must also strategically schedule its remaining rookie sessions to avoid losing critical track time.