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RULE CHANGE: ARTHUR LECLERC REPLACES LEWIS HAMILTON IN ABU DHABI FP1

Lewis Hamilton misses FP1 for rookie Arthur Leclerc to fulfil the new F1 rule. Hamilton aims to avoid his first F1 season without a feature race podium.

Rule Change: Arthur Leclerc Replaces Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi FP1
Hamilton Sits Out FP1

Lewis Hamilton will sit out FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc's younger brother will take his place.

Ferrari will now meet the new rule requiring them to field a rookie in four FP1 sessions each year. The rule changed at the start of this year.

Before, teams only needed to use a rookie driver—someone with two or fewer F1 races under their belt—in two FP1 sessions.

Now, it's two per car.

So, Arthur Leclerc will be back on track with his brother at the Yas Marina circuit, just like last year.

In 2024, they shared the track with Arthur, finishing FP1 in P18, about 1.8 seconds behind Charles.

Arthur, 25, is a reserve driver for Ferrari, along with Antonio Giovinazzi. He also races for AF Corse in GT3.

This year, he was in the 24 Hours of Daytona and raced in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and the sprint version.

Before this, Arthur raced in Formula 3 for Prema in 2021 and 2022, finishing 10th and then sixth.

In 2023, he ended up 15th in Formula 2.

Charles mentioned before their session together last year, “We talked, but he’s my brother.

I don’t need to say much to know what he’s thinking or feeling. I know he’ll do great.

“He’s been great on the simulator this year and helped us a lot.

It'll be good to compare the virtual laps he often does on the sim with real data, and it's a special moment for him.

I hope it all goes well, and I’m really happy.”

Hamilton's got lots of experience at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, so missing FP1 shouldn't make a big difference for the F1 star.

Plus, the seven-time title winner knows this is his last shot to get a podium finish in a feature race this season.

His first season with Ferrari hasn't gone as planned, with just a sprint race win in China to show for it. This season marked the fulfilment of a lifelong goal.

This could be his first F1 season without a podium in his 20-year career.

Right now, he’s on track to finish sixth in the driver standings, which is better than his seventh-place finish last season with Mercedes.

THE 2026 ULTIMATUM: WHY NEXT SEASON IS "MAKE OR BREAK" FOR LEWIS HAMILTON

After a winless 2025 debut, Lewis Hamilton faces a pivotal year. See why Steiner believes the 7x champ is nearing the F1 exit.

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Hamilton’s exit clock is ticking

Guenther Steiner, who used to run the Haas team, thinks Lewis Hamilton might quit Formula 1 if Ferrari can't get to the top of the Driver's Championship by 2026—he thinks that season will be super important for the racing star.

Hamilton had a tough first year with Ferrari, ending up sixth in the F1 rankings with 156 points.

That was 86 points behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc, and he didn't even get on the podium once, which is a first for him in a full season.

He often said he was bummed out about how his Ferrari debut was going.

Back in November, after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, he told Sky Sports, I feel awful. This has been the worst season ever, and it just keeps getting worse no matter how hard I try. I'm trying everything I can, both in and out of the car.

Hamilton looked pretty sad a lot during the season because he couldn't really fight for race wins.

Steiner told Sports Krone, I think if Ferrari has a good car next season, Hamilton might be able to turn things around. If they are more competitive, Lewis might find his drive again. But if things stay the same, next season will probably be his last in Formula 1. He's not going to go through that again. The situation is tough for him, and you could see that in every interview. So, the next season will be key for him.

What's Hamilton saying about quitting?

When the media asks Hamilton about his F1 future, he doesn't want to talk about retiring.

At the end of the season, when someone asked him what he would say to those who think he might retire soon, the 40-year-old said, I wouldn't say anything to them. None of them have done what I've done, so they don't know anything more than I do.

Last summer, after some rumors that he might leave early, Hamilton said he's staying at Ferrari until his contract is up.

He said, For those writing stories about me thinking about not racing, I've just started here with Ferrari. I've been here for a few years, and I'm in it for the long run, so there's no question about what I'm focused on achieving with this team. There are zero doubts, so please stop making stuff up.

In 2026, everyone will still be wondering about Hamilton's future in F1, mainly if Ferrari keeps struggling with the new rules. And if Steiner is right, another year of not competing for a championship could be the end for him.

MAX VERSTAPPEN NAMED PEER-VOTED DRIVER OF THE YEAR FOR FIFTH CONSECUTIVE SEASON

Max Verstappen wins his 5th straight F1 peer award, beating champion Lando Norris. Lewis Hamilton drops out of the top 10 for the first time.

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Verstappen Wins Fifth Straight Peer Award

Max Verstappen copped his fifth straight driver-of-the-year award in Formula 1's secret peer vote, even though he almost grabbed a fifth title in 2025 but didn't quite make it.

The drivers all voted in secret, except for four guys. The Red Bull driver beat out Lando Norris, who just won the world championship, for the number one spot.

The voting worked like the normal F1 points system. Drivers ranked their top 10 rivals. Verstappen got 25 points from six votes to win.

Norris, who won his first championship after a crazy season, came in second in the driver rankings for the second year running.

The McLaren driver won the title after fighting off pressure from Verstappen and his teammate, Oscar Piastri, all season long.

George Russell took third, moving up one spot from last year. The Mercedes driver had a killer season with two wins and seven more podiums.

Piastri was fourth, up one spot, even though his championship hopes fizzled out near the end. The Aussie was leading by 34 points at one point before his performance dropped off.

Charles Leclerc finished fifth, down two spots, even though he got everything he could out of Ferrari's SF-25. The Monegasque driver had seven podiums during a tough season that saw Ferrari finish fourth.

Carlos Sainz held onto sixth after a great comeback at Williams. After a rough start, the Spaniard grabbed two podiums in a strong second half of the season.

Fernando Alonso jumped two spots to seventh, and the two-time world champion had some crazy drives in Aston Martin's AMR25.

Alex Albon took eighth after his best season with Williams, while rookies Oliver Bearman and Isack Hadjar rounded out the top 10, getting props for their awesome first seasons.

Pierre Gasly almost made the list, even with 10 Q3 appearances in Alpine's tricky A525.

Lewis Hamilton, who's won seven world championships, didn't show up in the rankings, which is a first since they started doing this poll. It shows how rough his first season at Ferrari was.

The four drivers who skipped the vote were Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll, and Yuki Tsunoda.

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