Rookie Friday in Mexico: Russell, Norris and others hand over their cars for FP1
At least seven teams will run young drivers in first practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix. For Alpine junior Gabriele Minì it is his first outing on a Formula 1 weekend.
Archive image · Photo: Lukas Raich / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
First practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Friday (19:30 CET) will be a showcase for young talent. According to Speedweek and Grande Prêmio, Gabriele Minì takes over Franco Colapinto's Alpine, Frederik Vesti drives George Russell's Mercedes and Luke Browning replaces Alex Albon at Williams. Jak Crawford steps in for Lance Stroll at Aston Martin and Freddie Slater for Gabriel Bortoleto at Audi. Speedweek also lists Ryo Hirakawa at Haas in place of Esteban Ocon and Leonardo Fornaroli at McLaren in place of Lando Norris.
Red Bull is also likely to make a change: according to RacingNews365, Max Verstappen is expected to hand his car to Ayumu Iwasa, although this has not been confirmed. Ferrari plans to run Dino Beganovic, ScuderiaFans reports, but it is still open whose car he will take. For Minì, an Italian from Alpine's academy, it is his Formula 1 debut on a race weekend.
The reason is an FIA requirement: every team must field a rookie in at least four first practice sessions this season, split across both cars. Mexico is a popular choice because the track is often dusty and low on grip early in the weekend, so first-practice data is of limited value anyway, ScuderiaFans explains. The race in which Kimi Antonelli can clinch the title starts on Sunday at 21:00 CET.