Red Bull junior to make F1 practice debut in Daniel Ricciardo’s car in Japan

Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa is set to make his F1 practice debut at next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old will take over from the under-pressure Daniel Ricciardo to partner Yuki Tsunoda as RB field an all-Japanese driver line-up for FP1 at their home race.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmet Marko confirmed the plan in his column for SpeedWeek.

“On Friday we will use our young pilot Ayumu Iwasa in practice, an all-Nippon team. What's more, the Suzuka circuit should suit the Racing Bulls' car.” Marko wrote.

Iwasa’s appearance will complete the first of two mandatory rookie FP1 slots for the 2024 season.

“I am very happy to be able to participate in an official F1 session in my home country, and I am excited to be able to take the first step toward the realisation of my dream – winning races and capture the world championship title for many consecutive years in F1, the world’s most prestigious series," Iwasa said.

Iwasa has already raced at Suzuka this year when he made his debut in Japan’s Super Formula championship.

He previously raced in Formula 2 and made his F1 testing debut for the Faenza squad at the Abu Dhabi young driver test in November.

“He did a great job in the Abu Dhabi test at the end of last year when he drove for us for the first time,” RB team principal Laurent Mekies added.

"Since then, he has been doing a lot a valuable work in our simulator, including providing live race support.

"This on-track experience will be important for his growth as a young driver, as well as providing him and our engineers with a useful real-track correlation of the work he carries out for us in the simulator."