Ferrari have confirmed that academy prospect Dino Beganovic will take over Lewis Hamilton’s car during the opening practice session of this weekend’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix as part of Formula 1’s mandatory rookie driver programme.
The Italian team will give the talented young Swede valuable track time in FP1, allowing him to gain further experience behind the wheel of Ferrari’s 2026 challenger while Hamilton sits out the session. The appearance marks another important milestone in Beganovic’s development as he continues to progress through the ranks of the Ferrari Driver Academy.
Under Formula 1 regulations, every team must provide opportunities for rookie drivers during practice sessions throughout the season. Each race team is required to run a rookie twice in each of its cars, resulting in four rookie appearances across the campaign. Barcelona has become a popular venue for teams to fulfil part of that requirement, with several young talents set to feature during the first practice session.
Beganovic arrives at the event in encouraging form. The 22-year-old currently competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship and sits sixth in the standings. One of the highlights of his season came in Miami, where he secured a strong second-place finish in the feature race. Alongside his racing commitments, he has also played a role in Ferrari’s simulator programme, helping the team gather data and prepare for race weekends.
That simulator experience could prove valuable as he prepares to drive Ferrari’s latest machine. With the introduction of Formula 1’s new technical regulations, teams and drivers have faced fresh challenges adapting to redesigned cars, making every lap and every piece of feedback increasingly important.
Speaking before the session, Beganovic expressed both excitement and determination ahead of the opportunity. He described returning to a Ferrari Formula 1 car as a special experience and said he was eager to work closely with the engineers and mechanics throughout the weekend.
The Swedish driver also reflected on positive memories from previous Formula 1 outings and explained that his immediate priority would be learning the characteristics of the new car as quickly as possible. Rather than focusing on lap times, Beganovic emphasized the importance of delivering useful technical feedback and completing the programme assigned to him by the team.
Ferrari are not the only outfit giving a young driver a chance in Barcelona. Several other teams have announced rookie appearances for FP1 as they work toward meeting the season’s requirements.
Among the notable changes, Frederik Vesti will drive for Mercedes in place of Kimi Antonelli, while Leonardo Fornaroli will step into Lando Norris’ McLaren. At Red Bull, Ayumu Iwasa has been selected to replace Isack Hadjar, while Williams will hand Luke Browning the wheel instead of Alex Albon.
Elsewhere, Paul Aron will drive for Audi in place of Nico Hulkenberg, and Cadillac have chosen Colton Herta to substitute for Sergio Perez during the opening session.
For Beganovic, however, the spotlight will be firmly on Ferrari as he gets a rare opportunity to showcase his talent in one of Formula 1’s most famous cars while temporarily standing in for seven-time world champion Hamilton.