Paul Aron with Alpine during Free Practice 1 of the Abu Dhabi GP

While the 2025 season of Formula 1 As the season draws to a close with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this Sunday, some teams are taking advantage of the opportunity to field rookies in Free Practice 1, as stipulated by the rule requiring each regular driver to hand over their seat twice to a rookie on Friday morning. Meanwhile...Alpine, Pierre Gasly Paul Aron was scheduled to be replaced once more. The Estonian will be driving for the French team for the third time during a Grand Prix weekend, following Monza and Mexico. This will also be the 21-year-old's fifth Free Practice 1 session of the season, having also driven for Sauber in Great Britain and Hungary.

Paul's back for his third and final FP1 session 💙

Heading back where he got behind the wheel of an F1 car for the first time, it'll be another weekend of valuable learning 💪 pic.twitter.com/6EFoucrunx

—BWT Alpine Formula One Team (@AlpineF1Team) December 3, 2025

“I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the A525 this week in Abu Dhabi for my third free practice session with the team, and my fifth of the year, Aron rejoices. My performances at Monza and Mexico were very positive for my development as a driver, and I intend to put those gains to good use one last time this year. I really enjoyed the end-of-season tests at this circuit last year. It's a memorable experience as it was my first time in Formula 1. I thank the team for giving me this opportunity again in Abu Dhabi. I will do my best to contribute to the team's success this race weekend.

Alpine also announced the presence of Kush Maini on track during the tests for young drivers on Tuesday, December 9. “I’m looking forward to participating in the end-of-season tests in Abu Dhabi and having my first real experience driving the A525. I know the Yas Marina Circuit well thanks to the Formula 2 And it will be impressive to discover the performance level of a Formula 1 car on this track. I am deeply grateful for the trust the team has placed in me in this role and I will try to do the best job possible with the program they entrust to me. This will be the Indian driver's first appearance in an official test session after several TPCs with the team.

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