10 F1 Drivers Miss Mexico FP1 as Rookies Get Track Time — SkimNews
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- Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and George Russell are among the 10 drivers who will miss Mexico City GP first practice on Friday, October 30, with Leonardo Fornaroli, Ayumu Iwasa and Frederik Vesti taking their McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes seats respectively.
- Formula 1 rules require every team to run a rookie in at least two practice sessions for both cars; Mexico’s non-street, non-Sprint format lets most teams fulfill the requirement in Friday’s opening session.
- Ferrari alone will field both full-time drivers for the opening session, unlike every other Formula 1 team.
- Nikola Tsolov, a Formula 2 title contender, will make his F1 practice debut in Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls car; Racing Bulls is also the only team yet to announce its 2027 drivers.
- Colton Herta is set for a fifth practice outing of 2026 at Cadillac; the wider rotation includes Jak Crawford’s fourth Aston Martin appearance and Luke Browning in Alex Albon’s Williams.
- Gabriele Mini will make his F1 practice debut, while Ryo Hirakawa returns for Haas in place of Esteban Ocon.
- Freddie Slater, the 18-year-old runner-up in the 2026 Formula 3 championship, will make his F1 debut for Audi in Gabriel Bortoleto’s car after eight podiums in eight F3 weekends; he is also due to practice in Brazil next week.
Why it matters: Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and eight other drivers lose opening-session track time, while reserves and rookies gain it because teams must run a rookie in at least two sessions for both cars; Mexico’s non-street, non-Sprint format lets most satisfy the rule in one session. Ferrari alone keeps both full-time drivers on track.
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