Six teams to field FP1 rookies in Brazil as Camara prepares for full debut with Haas

Six Formula 1 teams are handing over their cars for Friday's opening practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, giving a fresh batch of youngsters another hour behind the wheel. Under the 2026 regulations, every full-time racer must step aside for a rookie—defined as a driver with no more than two Grand Prix starts—twice a season. Most of them will hand the machines right back for FP2, but Rafael Camara is facing a much bigger weekend as he steps up for a full F1 debut.

Leonardo Fornaroli is back in McLaren's MCL40 for the second weekend in a row, following his FP1 outing in Mexico City. The reigning F2 champion and McLaren Driver Development Programme member completed nearly 350 kilometres in a Testing of Previous Cars outing at Circuit Paul Ricard before taking P17 in Mexico. Now, the 21-year-old will take over Oscar Piastri's car at Interlagos to tick off McLaren's mandatory rookie allocation.

Over at Ferrari, Dino Beganovic is jumping back into the SF-26 after the Scuderia sat out the rookie session in Mexico City. The 22-year-old Swede, a Ferrari Driver Academy member since 2020, already has outings in Austria and Barcelona under his belt, where he finished ninth and eighth respectively. The DAMS F2 racer will replace Charles Leclerc for Friday morning's data gathering.

Luke Browning is heading into his fifth FP1 appearance of the campaign with Williams. The Briton, who also races in Japan’s Super Formula championship, previously drove in Barcelona, Austria, Italy, and Mexico City, where an electrical issue in Spain was followed by a 33-lap run last time out. The 24-year-old takes over Carlos Sainz's FW48 for his final scheduled rookie outing of the year.

Freddie Slater is looking for a cleaner run in Audi's R26 after a messy debut in Mexico City, where a forgotten cooling fan on his car slapped the team with a €7,500 fine. The 18-year-old Audi Driver Development Programme member, who finished runner-up in F3 this season and steps up to F2 with Invicta Racing in 2027, will replace Nico Hulkenberg in Brazil.

Gabriele Mini continues his run with Alpine after making his official weekend debut in Mexico City. The Alpine Academy member finished P14—just over seven tenths behind Pierre Gasly—despite a Virtual Safety Car ruining his final soft-tyre run in his outing in Franco Colapinto’s A526. Currently fourth in the F2 standings with two wins and seven more podiums, the 21-year-old Italian will replace Gasly at Interlagos.

Colton Herta is back for his sixth FP1 outing of the year with Cadillac as he chases the remaining Super Licence points needed for an F1 seat. The former IndyCar driver, currently 19th in F2, needs to complete at least 100 kilometres on Friday to secure his final Super Licence point after falling short of the required mileage in Mexico City. He will replace Sergio Perez in Sao Paulo.

Finally, Rafael Camara is doing things the hard way by skipping the rookie-only exit and jumping straight into a full F1 debut for Haas in front of his home crowd. The 21-year-old Brazilian currently leads the F2 standings and brings titles in Formula Regional and F3, with his 2027 arrival at Haas brought forward after Esteban Ocon’s departure. With Ryo Hirakawa stepping in during Mexico City, WEC commitments for Hirakawa have opened the door for Camara. The Ferrari Driver Academy member has never raced at Interlagos or driven the team’s 2026 challenger, leaving him just three practice sessions to get up to speed before Qualifying.