Formula 1 News: 7 young guns will drive in opening practice for the Mexico City GP
Under F1’s 2025 rules mandating two rookie FP1 sessions per car, seven young guns, including American Jak Crawford (pictured) will hit the track Friday in Mexico City, shaking up the order and injecting fresh energy into setups at altitude.
Here’s the lineup, with the regulars they sideline in Practice 1 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez:
| Young Gun | Team | Replaces | Key Notes |
| Pato O’Ward | McLaren | Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri | Home hero and McLaren reserve; IndyCar runner-up; second straight Mexico FP1 for vital setup intel. |
| Fred Vesti | Mercedes | George Russell | Dane in his fourth FP1; IMSA winner bringing sim expertise to cool-weather challenges. |
| Antonio Fuoco | Ferrari | Lewis Hamilton | Italian WEC/Le Mans champ; Mexico debut, testing Ferrari’s scarlet steed. |
| Arvid Lindblad | Red Bull | Max Verstappen | British F2 podium hunter (7th in standings); second FP1 after Silverstone sub for Tsunoda. |
| Luke Browning | Williams | Carlos Sainz | Williams academy star; third FP1, third in F2—honing that midfield edge. |
| Jak Crawford | Aston Martin | Lance Stroll | American F2 title contender (2nd); FP1 debut after 2,000+ km of testing. |
| Ryo Hirakawa | Haas | Oliver Bearman | Japanese reserve; fourth FP1 this year, post-Alpine switch—Abu Dhabi next. |