Ferrari Academy driver Charles Leclerc will no longer take part in Friday practice for Haas at the Malaysian Grand Prix, following a GP3 timetable change.
The 18-year-old, who leads the GP3 standings by 24 points ahead of fellow Ferrari protege Antonio Fuoco, was set to make his fourth of five Formula One practice outings during the opening session at Sepang, before an alteration to the feeder series' schedule was made.
With GP3 practice running a day earlier than usual on Thursday and qualifying taking place on Friday, just over four hours after F1 practice, Leclerc would have to switch between his ART Grand Prix GP3 machinery to F1 and back again.
It is the first time GP3 has raced at the Sepang International Circuit, and while the Monegasque has rotated between cars before when driving in FP1 sessions at Silverstone, Budapest and Hockenheim -- each time in place of Esteban Gutierrez -- he has not done so on a qualifying day.
Malaysia is also the penultimate race weekend of the GP3 season, and with Leclerc embroiled in a title fight, it adds a further dimension to the decision.
Leclerc is set for an FP1 outing at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November, but hinted on social media that another opportunity to get behind the wheel of the Haas VF-16 may become avaliable.
I won't be driving FP1 in Malaysia due to a change of the timetable. But I will be in Abu Dhabi and hopefully on another FP1 aswell ! 🙂 #F1 pic.twitter.com/td8i2g5Nhx
— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) September 23, 2016