Verstappen, Norris Among 10 Out for Mexico FP1 — SkimNews
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- Formula 1 rules require each team to run a rookie in at least two practice sessions for both cars, and most teams are using Friday’s Mexico City GP session to meet that obligation; 10 drivers will miss it, with Ferrari alone fielding both full-time drivers.
- Max Verstappen will be replaced by Ayumu Iwasa, who drove for Red Bull in first practice at Barcelona and Monza earlier in 2026.
- Lando Norris will hand his McLaren to Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli, while George Russell will sit out the session and Mercedes reserve Frederik Vesti will drive.
- Nikola Tsolov will make his F1 practice debut in place of Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls, the only team that has not announced any of its 2027 drivers.
- Colton Herta will make a fifth practice outing of the season at Cadillac, while Jak Crawford completes his fourth Aston Martin appearance and Luke Browning fills in for Alex Albon at Williams.
- Freddie Slater will make his F1 practice debut for Audi in Gabriel Bortoleto’s car and also appear in Brazil next week; the 18-year-old finished runner-up in the 2026 F3 championship with eight podiums in eight weekends.
- Gabriele Mini will make his F1 practice debut, while Haas’ Ryo Hirakawa returns in place of Esteban Ocon.
Why it matters: Ten drivers miss opening-session track time, while reserve and junior drivers gain it; Audi’s Freddie Slater and Racing Bulls’ Nikola Tsolov make their F1 practice debuts. Mexico’s non-street, non-Sprint format lets most teams work toward the requirement of running a rookie in at least two practice sessions for both cars.
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