Hamilton to miss Barcelona FP1 as Beganovic gets Ferrari run

Lewis Hamilton will sit out the opening practice session of the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend, with Ferrari handing his car to rookie driver Dino Beganovic for FP1.

Ferrari hands Beganovic another FP1 opportunity

Beganovic, who has been part of the Ferrari Driver Academy for several years, will take over Hamilton’s Ferrari for the first session of the weekend. The Swedish driver already has FP1 experience from last season, when he completed outings in Bahrain and Austria.

"Putting on the red race suit, getting back behind the wheel, and working closely with the engineers and mechanics is something unique, so I’m really looking forward to Barcelona," Beganovic said.

"I have great memories from last year’s FP1 and I want to build on that experience and put everything together this time."

Feedback, adaptation and a tight FP1 brief

For Ferrari, the value of the session will not simply be measured by lap times. Rookie FP1 outings are compressed, operationally demanding exercises, and Beganovic’s stated focus is aligned with what the team will need: clean running, quick adaptation and useful feedback.

"Clearly, this is still a very new car for me because of the regulation changes and everything that comes with them, so the priority is to get up to speed as quickly as possible," he said.

"My aim is to do the job the team requires of me, provide useful feedback, and adapt to the car as much as possible."

Beganovic added that delivering on that brief would make the session positive for both himself and Ferrari.

"If I can do that, it will be a positive session for the whole team and hopefully an enjoyable one for me too."

Hamilton, meanwhile, arrives in Spain after finishing on the podium last time out in Monaco, giving Ferrari a strong competitive reference point before his temporary FP1 handover.