Which rookie drivers are getting FP1 outings at the Mexico City Grand Prix?

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Nearly every F1 team will run a rookie during Friday’s first practice session for the Mexico City Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, with Ferrari the only team that is not changing its lineup. The mandate follows the 2025 approach: full-time drivers must make way for a rookie—someone who has started no more than two Grands Prix—in two practice sessions across the season.

Fred Vesti, a Mercedes junior who works as the team’s third driver, will take over from George Russell for FP1 after stepping in for championship leader Kimi Antonelli in Hungary. Vesti has already appeared in FP1 this season at Barcelona-Catalunya and Hungary, building on earlier experience that began in 2023; Mercedes says his simulator work supports Kimi Antonelli and Russell.

Ayumu Iwasa is set for another FP1 appearance with Racing Bulls. The Japanese driver combines a Super Formula campaign—where he is described as reigning champion after winning the 2025 title—with test and reserve duties for Racing Bulls, and he has also received FP1 opportunities across both Red Bull and Racing Bulls this year, including at Barcelona, Austria, Italy and Mexico City. In Mexico, he is expected to get behind the wheel of Max Verstappen’s RB22 during FP1.

Leonardo Fornaroli will make two Friday and Saturday practice appearances, with the 21-year-old joining McLaren Driver Development after a 2025 F2 season. His F1 work includes participation in a Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) weekend at Circuit Paul Ricard earlier in October, described as his sixth F1 test with McLaren. For Mexico, he will take Lando Norris’s seat, continuing his learning of the MCL40 after a noted FP1 appearance at Barcelona-Catalunya in which he finished fifth.

Nikola Tsolov is the first new name on the list, with Racing Bulls set to give him a potentially important first F1 appearance. Red Bull Junior Team driver Tsolov has been described as highly rated and within seven points of the lead in F2, but his F1 running has been limited to showruns and a TPC test at Imola since signing in 2025. Racing Bulls Team Principal Alan Permane has said the team is weighing Tsolov against Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad for 2027, and Tsolov will replace Lawson in Friday’s FP1.

Gabriele Mini, another F2 driver making his debut weekend in Mexico City, will drive for Racing Bulls’ rivals Alpine by taking over Franco Colapinto’s A526 in FP1. Mini joined the Alpine Academy in 2023 after moving from Formula Regional to F3, and his progression is detailed as seventh in his first season, runner-up in 2024, and then a trio of F2 campaigns in which he is described as fourth in the standings with two wins and seven additional podiums. The source notes that Paul Aron has received most of Alpine’s FP1 opportunities this year, but Mexico City is Mini’s turn.

Haas will also use Ryo Hirakawa, who will drive in FP1 for the third time this season. The 32-year-old is identified as Haas’s test and reserve driver and is also described as having a World Endurance Championship background with Toyota. Esteban Ocon, who will leave Haas at the end of the year, will make way for Hirakawa in the opening hour of practice.

Freddie Slater, described as the first member of Audi’s Driver Development Programme, will get his first experience of F1 machinery at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. At 18, Slater is identified as missing out narrowly on the F3 title and confirmed to progress to F2 next season; Audi Racing Director Allan McNish is quoted in the source as saying, “it is the right time for Freddie to step up.” Slater will run in both Mexico City and São Paulo, taking Gabriel Bortoleto’s place for that stint.

Luke Browning will represent another reserve-driver path into FP1. Operating in Super Formula alongside his role as reserve driver for Williams, Browning has been offered FP1 opportunities at Barcelona, Austria, Italy, Mexico City and São Paulo. The source explains that Williams set aside four practice sessions for rookies under the regulations, but in Browning’s case the team gave him an additional opportunity after an electrical issue prevented him from running at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. In Mexico City, he will take over Alex Albon’s FW48.

Aston Martin’s Jak Crawford returns for Mexico City FP1 to take Lance Stroll’s seat. The source states this is Crawford’s final FP1 appearance of the season, after outings in Japan, Austria (where he achieved his best finish of P20 and was described as finishing ahead of Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso) and Belgium. Cadillac will also run a planned rookie practice appearance: Colton Herta will participate in his fifth practice session of the year for the team as he moves closer to securing his Super Licence, which the source says requires at least 100 km of running on Friday. The source adds that Herta has impressed Cadillac during earlier FP1 outings in Barcelona, Hungary and the United States.

Finally, the source describes a prior planned Italy drive for Herta being limited to five laps due to technical issues, and says he will have the chance to complete the laps needed in Mexico City as he takes over Valtteri Bottas’s MAC-26 for FP1. For Friday’s opening practice at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Ferrari remains the only team not to alter its usual lineup.