Four Reserve Drivers in Monza’s First Practice: A Real Test, Not Just a Formality

The first free practice session for the Italian Grand Prix produced an unusual sight around the Monza circuit – four reserve drivers took the wheel for Red Bull, Williams, Alpine and Cadillac, fulfilling the regulation’s mandatory young-driver outings.

Ayumu Iwasa took Max Verstappen’s seat at Red Bull. The Japanese driver already has seven free-practice outings under his belt since 2024, split between Red Bull and Racing Bulls, and remains one of the most experienced reserves in the pit lane.

At Williams, the team’s own academy graduate Luke Browning took to the track in place of Alex Albon. It’s his sixth Friday-practice start and second of the current season – Browning said the chance to bank laps in the FW48 was valuable for building his understanding of the car.

Alpine turned to Estonian Paul Aron instead of Pierre Gasly. Aron has previous practice experience from Barcelona and Hungary, and at Monza his main task was to evaluate the updated package Gasly has been running in recent races, before flying out the same evening for a simulator session in Enstone.

At Cadillac, American driver Colton Herta, who is also racing in Formula 2 in parallel, took Sergio Pérez’s seat for his third practice session of the season, following his debut in Barcelona. His focus was on energy management and low drag on Monza’s high-speed layout.

Under FIA regulations, every team is required to run a driver with no more than two Grand Prix starts in free practice at least twice a season for each of its cars – a rule that turns Fridays like this into a genuine test for Formula 1’s future, rather than a pure formality.