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Nine F1 drivers are set to be replaced in Free Practice One at the Mexico Grand Prix race weekend. The series has mandated that its teams field two rookie drivers in a year. Each one will replace one full-time driver in two practice sessions each, so a total of four sessions per team annually.
A rookie, in this case, is defined as a driver who has competed in no more than two championship races in their career. As a result, nine out of ten teams have opted to bench one of their full-time drivers in the Mexico GP FP1 this Friday (October 22).
The big storyline comes out of Red Bull, with F2 driver Arvid Lindblad set to pilot Max Verstappen's RB21. Lindblad is reportedly set to be promoted to Racing Bulls in 2026, and this practice outing will add to his F1 experience.
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Another F1 world champion will be replaced in FP1, with Lewis Hamilton making way for Ferrari factory driver Antonio Fuoco. The Italian is a development driver for the Scuderia and the winner of the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans.
At McLaren, championship contender Lando Norris will sit out FP1. Pato O'Ward, who drives for McLaren's IndyCar team, Arrow McLaren, and also serves as its F1 reserve driver, will replace the Briton. O'Ward is a Mexican driver and will have the home crowd cheering for him.
Racing Bulls will also utilize the Mexico GP FP1 for the mandated rookie program. Ayumu Iwasa, a Super Formula driver and F2 race winner, will replace Liam Lawson.
The next change follows at Williams with Luke Browning replacing Carlos Sainz. Browning drives for Hitech TGR in F2 and is a development driver for Williams, with the Mexico City outing slated to be his third practice appearance.
At Aston Martin, Jak Crawford, who stands second in the F2 standings, will replace Lance Stroll in FP1. He competes for DAMS in F2, is a part of AMR's driver development program, and is also a Formula E reserve driver for Andretti Global.
Ryo Hirakawa will replace Oliver Bearman at Haas. The Japanese driver abruptly left Alpine in April this year to join the American team as its official reserve driver.
Mercedes will make George Russell sit out FP1, with Frederik Vesti replacing the Briton. Vesti is the reserve driver for the Silver Arrows and also competed in the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship with Cadillac Whelen.
The ninth and last change comes at Alpine, with Paul Aron set to replace Pierre Gasly in the A525. The Estonian driver serves as Alpine's reserve driver and is in contention for Franco Colapinto's seat for 2026.
2025 F1 Mexico Grand Prix schedule and session timings
The 2025 F1 Mexico Grand Prix at the 2.674-mile Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit is a non-sprint weekend that will take place from October 24 to 26. It will have the regular format of two free practice sessions on Friday, the first of which will have nine rookies from nine of the ten teams, as mentioned above. The status quo in driver lineups will resume from FP2 onwards.
Saturday entails the third free practice session followed by qualifying, with the feature race set to take place on Sunday. Here are the session timings for the weekend:
Friday, October 24
Free Practice 1 - 2:30 pm ET (12:30 local time)
Free Practice 2 - 6 pm ET (4 pm local time)
Saturday, October 25
Free Practice 3 - 1:30 pm ET (11:30 am local time)
Qualifying - 5 pm ET (3 pm local time)
Sunday, October
Mexico Grand Prix - 4 pm ET (2 pm local time)
Max Verstappen has won the Mexico Grand Prix a record five times and needs to defend his crown against the McLaren drivers to ensure he remains in the hunt for the 2025 F1 drivers' championship.
