Beganovic steps into Hamilton's Ferrari for Barcelona FP1 as Alonso warns of more Aston Martin pain

Lewis Hamilton will give up his Ferrari seat for the opening practice session at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix this Sunday, with Swedish academy driver Dino Beganovic taking his place under the sport’s mandatory rookie-running rule.

Every full-time driver must hand over their car on two separate occasions during the season to allow a younger driver competitive mileage. Beganovic, who has been part of the Ferrari Driver Academy for several years, is making his third FP1 appearance and arrives at a circuit widely regarded as one of the most familiar on the calendar — an advantage for drivers still learning the ropes at the top level.

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

The 22-year-old also reflected on the challenge posed by this season’s regulation changes. “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 added.

Hamilton heads into Spain on the back of a second-placed finish in Monaco, where Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli claimed victory for the second time this season. Antonelli navigated two safety car periods and a red-flag restart to extend his championship lead to 66 points over Hamilton, with George Russell third in the standings.

Elsewhere, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has delivered a candid assessment of Aston Martin’s prospects, warning that the team faces more “painful results” before a significant upgrade package is introduced. The Silverstone-based constructor has opted to concentrate its resources on one major development bundle rather than rolling out incremental updates throughout the year — a strategy shaped by Formula 1’s cost cap regulations.

Alonso secured Aston Martin’s first point of the 2025 season in Monaco, though only after Cadillac’s Sergio Perez was demoted in the standings following a post-race penalty. The team currently sit tenth in the constructors’ championship among eleven competing teams, underlining the scale of the challenge ahead before that upgrade lands.