Ferrari Formula 1 team has announced a replacement for star driver Charles Leclerc for an upcoming Grand Prix weekend.

The Maranello-based outfit announced that the Monegasque star will not be present in every session across the Bahrain Grand Prix race weekend, which runs from April 11-13.

The 27-year-old has had a disappointing start to the season, failing to finish higher than fifth in any of the three races so far.

Leclerc was handed his worst result of the campaign so far last weekend after being disqualified from the Chinese GP alongside new teammate Lewis Hamilton in a disastrous double blow for Ferrari.

Leclerc replaced by Ferrari Junior in F1 debut

The Ferrari driver duo will be hoping to improve on their inconsistent results at next weekend’s Japanese GP, which kicks off another double-header before the pinnacle of motorsport heads to Bahrain, where Leclerc will watch from the sidelines of FP1.

In an official announcement, Ferrari confirmed that Leclerc will sit in on the first free practice session on Friday 11 April, with F2 star Dino Starovic instead making his F1 debut behind the wheel of Leclerc’s SF-25.

The 21-year-old has been a member of Ferrari’s Driver Academy since 2020 and, after graduating from F2 at the end of last year, will now take the next step and get his first taste of F1 at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Following a rule change for the 2025 season, rookies have been given more opportunities to try their hand during practice sessions.

Previously, F1 teams were required to field a rookie in each of their cars at least once during testing sessions throughout the year, but that has now increased to twice per car, with Starovic announced as the first replacement for many for 2025