Gasly cedes AlphaTauri seat to Lawson for Spa FP1

©Twitter/LiamLawson

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Pierre Gasly will sit out Friday's opening practice session at Spa as AlphaTauri hands Red Bull junior Liam Lawson his official F1 debut.

Lawson, a two-time winner with Carlin in the FIA Formula 2 Championship this season, will have a busy Friday as the Kiwi manages his FP1 outing with his F2 commitment.

Slowly but surely, F1 teams are adding young drivers to their Friday schedule, in accordance with this year's sporting rules that mandate that each team allocate at least two practice sessions to a young driver.

Read also: Marko says Tsunoda radio outbursts 'went too far'

Red Bull Racing ran Juri Vips in FP1 in Barcelona while Williams - which gave track time to Mercedes EQ works driver Nyck de Vries in Spain - will run junior charger Logan Sargeant in FP1 at the US Grand Prix in October.

AlphaTauri has yet to define its driver line-up for 2023. While Pierre Gasly is committed to the Italian outfit until the end of 2023, the future of his current teammate Yuki Tsunoda is still up in the air.

But AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost; recently said if the Japanese driver completes a satisfactory second half of the season, he'll likely remain on the grid next year with the team.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.