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Max Verstappen, George Russell and Lando Norris will miss the first practice session of the Mexican Grand Prix on Friday, with rookie drivers taking their places. Over the course of the season, each Formula 1 team has to run a rookie in a minimum of two practice sessions for both cars.
Given the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is considered one of the simplest tracks on the calendar, it makes sense that teams will look to utilise this week's event to fulfil strict requirements. In fact, Ferrari are the only team who will use both first-choice drivers for Friday's opening practice.
Red Bull will give Ayumu Iwasa a run out in place of Verstappen - the 25-year-old having already enjoyed practice sessions in Barcelona and Monza. Mercedes' Russell, meanwhile, will watch in the wings as reserve driver, Frederik Vesti, takes to the track.
Norris, who drives for McLaren, meanwhile, will be replaced by Formula 2 champion, Leonardo Fornaroli, while Nikola Tsolov will sit in for Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls. That will come as the 19-year-old's practice debut with the team.
It's a similar story for Gabriele Mini, who fills in for Franco Colapinto at Alpine. Colton Herta will enjoy his fifth practice session of the season with Cadillac, as Valtteri Bottas makes way, while Jak Crawford makes his fourth Aston Martin appearance of the year in lieu of Lance Stroll.
Luke Browning will take to the track in Alex Albon's car with Williams, while Ryo Hirakawa takes the place of Esteban Ocon with Haas. British teen, Freddie Slater, will also make his own F1 practice debut with Audi, with the team rolling him out instead of Gabriel Bortoleto.
The 18-year-old finished as the runner-up of this year's Formula 3 championship, managing eight podiums in eight weekends in formidable style. Speaking about the youngster's debut, Audi racing director, Allan McNish, said: "We have seen Freddie making great progress throughout recent years, both on and off the track; it is the right time for Freddie to step up.
"These appearances in Mexico and Brazil will give him valuable experience of a Formula 1 race weekend, and another chance to continue his development before he steps up to Formula 2 next season. We are looking forward to seeing him in the R26 and supporting him through these two important FP1 sessions."
The first practice session gets underway at 6.30pm on Friday evening, with a second starting three hours later. The final practice session starts at 6.30pm on Saturday, ahead of qualifying at 9.30pm. The Mexican Grand Prix then officially lands at 8pm on Sunday evening.
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