Round 20 of the current F1 season sees the sport head to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez, which hosts the Mexico City Grand Prix.
With it being just one of the three remaining rounds left that does not run under the sprint format, teams are using the opportunity to field rookie drivers.
Every team must nominate two FP1 sessions during the year when they hand the car to a rookie to gain F1 experience. This rule will be doubled to four outings in 2025.
Half of the grid will have rookie drivers taking part in the opening practice segment.
IndyCar star Pato O'Ward will get behind the wheel of the championship-leading MCL38 McLaren in front of a home crowd.
Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli, who have been confirmed as 2025 F1 drivers, will take part in FP1 with Ferrari and Mercedes respectively.
Felipe Drugovich, F2 champion in 2022, will drive the Aston Martin in place of Fernando Alonso, while Robert Shwartzman will take over duties from Zhou Guanyu at Stake.
The rookies will have 60 minutes to gain further experience with F1 machinery.
FP1 will get underway at 12:30 PM local time, 19:30 BST, on Friday, October 25.
| FP1 Driver | Team | Driver Replaced | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pato O'Ward | McLaren | TBC | |
| Oliver Bearman | Ferrari | Charles Leclerc | |
| Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | Lewis Hamilton | |
| Felipe Drugovich | Aston Martin | Fernando Alonso | |
| Robert Shwartzman | Stake | Zhou Guanyu |
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look back on the US GP and look ahead to this weekend's race in Mexico City. Max Verstappen and Lando Norris' Turn 12 incident is a key talking point, as is the narrative change in both F1 championships.
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