Ten full-time drivers are making way for junior, test, and reserve drivers during Friday's opening practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the Mexico City Grand Prix. With Ferrari standing as the sole outfit keeping their line-up intact, the regulations mandating that every full-time racer must sit out for a rookie—defined as someone starting no more than two Grands Prix—in two practice sessions across the season are in full swing.
Mercedes is putting Fred Vesti into George Russell's car for the opening 60-minute session. Vesti has built up experience through outings starting in 2023, including Barcelona-Catalunya and the Hungarian Grands Prix this season. Over at Red Bull, Ayumu Iwasa—the reigning 2025 Super Formula champion—gets behind the wheel of Max Verstappen’s RB22, marking another FP1 appearance for him this year following runs in Barcelona, Austria, and Italy.
McLaren hands Lando Norris’s seat to Leonardo Fornaroli. The 21-year-old joined McLaren’s Driver Development Programme following a triumphant F2 season in 2025 and previously finished fifth in FP1 at Barcelona-Catalunya. Racing Bulls hands an important first F1 appearance to Nikola Tsolov, who replaces Liam Lawson. With the team yet to announce their 2027 line-up, Tsolov aims to impress Team Principal Alan Permane while sitting just seven points off the F2 standings lead.
Alpine rolls out Gabriele Mini in Franco Colapinto’s A526. The Italian is currently fourth in the F2 standings with two victories and seven podiums. Haas counters with 32-year-old veteran Ryo Hirakawa, who steps into Esteban Ocon's car for his third practice session of the season alongside his Toyota World Endurance Championship duties. Audi gives 18-year-old Freddie Slater his first taste of F1 machinery in Gabriel Bortoleto’s R26 before his step up to F2 next season.
Williams fields Luke Browning in Alex Albon’s FW48. Browning balances Super Formula with his Williams reserve role, getting an extra session this year after an electrical issue blocked his Barcelona outing. Aston Martin’s reserve driver Jak Crawford returns to take Lance Stroll’s seat for his final FP1 appearance of the season, following outings in Japan, Austria, and Belgium. Finally, Colton Herta takes the wheel of Valtteri Bottas’ MAC-26 for Cadillac. Herta needs to complete at least 100km of running on Friday to secure his Super Licence, adding extra weight to his fifth practice outing of the year.
