The rookie takeover at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is one of the most crowded Friday morning lineups of the 2026 season. Russell’s seat in the Mercedes W17 goes to reserve driver Frederik Vesti, while Red Bull hands Verstappen’s car to Ayumu Iwasa.
Mercedes confirmed the swap in a statement from deputy technical director Simone Resta.
“This weekend, we’ll have Fred contributing to our development. It’s a very important aspect for us because it’s the ideal bridge between our performance on track and our virtual world.”
Vesti, who made his own FP1 debut for Mercedes at this circuit in 2023, flagged the handover himself.
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“On Friday in Mexico City, I’ll be doing FP1 in George’s W17. So, huge thank you to George for letting me drive your car.”
The rule behind the queue
The 2026 sporting regulations oblige each constructor to run a rookie in FP1 twice for each car across the season, as The Race has laid out. That is four rookie sessions per team, with a rookie defined as a driver who has made no more than two grand prix starts.
With the calendar winding down, teams that have not yet filled their quota are stacking Mexico and the São Paulo round that follows. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is not a street circuit and does not host a Sprint, which makes it a comparatively low-risk venue to spend a Friday session on a rookie.
Ten swaps, one Ferrari exception
Ferrari is the only team running both of its regular drivers on Friday. The full lineup of FP1 swaps, per Sky Sports:
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- Red Bull: Max Verstappen → Ayumu Iwasa
- Mercedes: George Russell → Frederik Vesti
- McLaren: Lando Norris → Leonardo Fornaroli
- Racing Bulls: Liam Lawson → Nikola Tsolov
- Alpine: Franco Colapinto → Gabriele Minì
- Haas: Esteban Ocon → Ryo Hirakawa
- Audi: Gabriel Bortoleto → Freddie Slater
- Williams: Alex Albon → Luke Browning
- Aston Martin: Lance Stroll → Jak Crawford
- Cadillac: Valtteri Bottas → Colton Herta
Cadillac’s Colton Herta needs the Mexico FP1 kilometres to earn enough points for an FIA Super Licence, the team has confirmed.
FP1 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez starts on Friday, 30 October at 12:30pm local time, with the race set for Sunday, 1 November at 2pm local time.
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