After suffering broken ribs and a pneumothorax injury as a result of an accident during the , Fernando Alonso was ruled out of the Bahrain Grand Prix as a precaution after medical exams. McLaren reserve driver and reigning GP2 Series champion Stoffel Vandoorne made his Formula One debut, replacing Alonso. Alonso returned to his seat for the Chinese Grand Prix two weeks later. Daniil Kvyat and Max Verstappen traded places ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, with Verstappen promoted to Red Bull Racing and Kvyat returning to Scuderia Toro Rosso. Red Bull explained the decision to swap their drivers as being made to relieve pressure on Kvyat following criticism for his role in a first-lap accident in the Russian Grand Prix, and to ease ongoing tension between Verstappen and teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. at Toro Rosso. Rio Haryanto lost his race seat after the , when his sponsors were unable to meet their financial obligations to the team. He stayed with the team, filling a testing and reserve role. His race seat was filled by 2015 GP3 Series champion and Renault test driver Esteban Ocon, who made his Formula One debut with MRT at the Belgian Grand Prix.