Lando Norris and Max Verstappen will not take the wheel during the opening practice session of the Mexico City Grand Prix, joining seven other senior drivers in a widespread rookie deployment. The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, a permanent circuit without the complexities of a street layout or Sprint format, offers ideal conditions for teams to satisfy the FIA’s mandate requiring each squad to run a young driver in at least two practice sessions for both cars. Consequently, the majority of the grid is utilizing Friday’s first session to fulfill these obligations, reserving their primary drivers for the more critical second practice and qualifying sessions.
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The absence of the championship frontrunners highlights the strategic efficiency of the current calendar. Verstappen will be replaced by Ayumu Iwasa, who previously gained valuable track time for Red Bull in Barcelona and Monza earlier this season. This rotation allows top-tier teams to gather essential data from junior drivers while conserving the physical and mental energy of their mainstays for the high-stakes latter half of the weekend. The decision underscores the growing importance of driver development pipelines within the sport’s competitive hierarchy.
Only Ferrari and Racing Bulls will field their full-time drivers for the opening session, a rare exception to the trend. Fans can watch every session of the Mexico City GP, including Friday’s practice sessions at 6.30pm and 10pm, live on Sky Sports F1. As the field prepares for a challenging high-altitude race, the strategic choices made in FP1 will set the tone for the weekend, with teams balancing rookie experience against immediate performance gains.
Source: Sky Sports
