Oscar Piastri set for critical Abu Dhabi disadvantage as McLaren replacement named

McLaren has confirmed that Pato O'Ward is to deputise for Oscar Piastri in Free Practice 1 at the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. 

Piastri has no choice but to miss the opening 60 minutes of practice at Yas Marina, as he has only filled one of the two mandatory slots for his car to be handed over to a rookie driver.

McLaren's IndyCar star O'Ward took over Piastri's MCL39 at the Mexico City GP, and is again set to drive in Abu Dhabi for his fifth FP1 session, and third in Abu Dhabi. 

The sister car of Lando Norris fulfilled its two slots through former junior Alex Dunne at the Austrian and Italian Grands Prix, but given the fact that Abu Dhabi's FP1 session is usually run in daylight with the key sessions such as qualifying and the race held a twilight, it is not uncommon for drivers to save their mandatory sessions until the finale.

Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda will also be among the drivers to hand their cars over for FP1  at Ferrari and Red Bull, respectively.

Piastri enters the weekend as the rank outsider for the world title, and is 16 points behind team-mate Norris and four behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, but his route is arguably the most straightforward.

Norris has 408 points, to Verstappen's 396 and Piastri on 392. 

For Piastri to be crowned champion, he must finish in the top two. 

If he wins, he moves to 417 points, so he requires Norris to be sixth (eight points) or lower, with Verstappen's result irrelevant. 

If Piastri is second, he moves to 410 points, meaning Norris must be 10th or lower (one point), with Verstappen fourth or lower (12 points).