{"id":232327,"date":"2025-10-22T11:25:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T11:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/232327\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T11:25:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T11:25:10","slug":"nine-drivers-swapped-for-fp1-in-sweeping-grid-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/232327\/","title":{"rendered":"Nine drivers swapped for FP1 in sweeping grid switch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A ninth team has added itself to the list of constructors opting to utilise one of their mandatory rookie sessions in FP1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix.<\/p>\n<p>Racing Bulls confirmed on Wednesday that reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa will take Liam Lawson\u2019s place in first practice, with Sauber the only team to not confirm a driver change at this stage \u2013 its young driver requirements have already been fulfilled, in part by fielding a rookie in Gabriel Bortoleto.<\/p>\n<p>Nine teams to use mandatory rookie slot in Mexico City FP1<\/p>\n<p>Formula 1 teams have seen an increase in the number of mandatory rookie sessions this season, rising from one driver swap per car to two across the campaign, with drivers who have started no more than two grands prix being eligible.<\/p>\n<p>For the majority of the teams, this will be the third driver switch they have made this season, with one more to come later on \u2013 the season finale in Abu Dhabi has often been a preferred venue for this requirement, given the post-season young driver test that follows days later.<\/p>\n<p>In the here and now, however, FP1 will have a different look about it as drivers inexperienced at Formula 1 level get a chance to impress.<\/p>\n<p>While Sergio Perez is absent from the grid this year, returning next season with Cadillac, Mexican fans will have at least one home driver to support at the start of the weekend, as IndyCar star Patricio O\u2019Ward fills in for Lando Norris at McLaren.<\/p>\n<p>How the F1 grid is forming for next season<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetf1.com\/news\/f1-2026-driver-line-up-confirmed-grid\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">F1 2026 driver line-up: Which drivers are already confirmed for 2026?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetf1.com\/news\/f1-2025-driver-contracts\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">F1 driver contracts: What is the contract status of every driver on the 2025 grid?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Max Verstappen will also be watching on in first practice as Arvid Lindblad, widely believed to be in the running to join Formula 1 with Racing Bulls next season, steps in for his second session of the season, having also appeared at Silverstone.<\/p>\n<p>Two practice debutants will head onto the track on Friday, with Ferrari development driver, and winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Antonio Fuoco, stepping in for Lewis Hamilton. At Aston Martin, American driver Jak Crawford will step up to drive Lance Stroll\u2019s car in Mexico City.<\/p>\n<p>Williams junior Luke Browning comes in for his second FP1 outing of the season, taking the wheel of Carlos Sainz\u2019s chassis, while Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti steps in at Mercedes.<\/p>\n<p>It is still the team\u2019s third rookie driver run of the season, however, as two slots were filled by Kimi Antonelli at the start of the campaign, while at\u00a0Haas, Ryo Hirakawa comes in for Oliver Bearman in his fourth practice outing of the season (having made an appearance with Alpine in Japan).<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Alpine reserve Paul Aron takes in his fourth practice session of the year out of a planned five, the Estonian filling in for Pierre Gasly this time around.<\/p>\n<p>Aron has already driven for Alpine in FP1 this year, alongside two extra outings offered to him by Sauber in the middle of the season. He is also believed to be in contention for a full-time drive in 2026 with Franco Colapinto\u2019s future uncertain, so Aron will have the Argentine as a barometer in real time while on track on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Confirmed FP1 driver changes at the Mexico City Grand Prix<\/p>\n<p>Alpine: Paul Aron replaces Pierre Gasly<br \/>Aston Martin: Jak Crawford replaces Lance Stroll<br \/>Ferrari: Antonio Fuoco replaces Lewis Hamilton<br \/>Haas: Ryo Hirakawa replaces Oliver Bearman<br \/>McLaren: Patricio O\u2019Ward replaces Lando Norris<br \/>Mercedes: Frederik Vesti replaces George Russell<br \/>Racing Bulls: Ayumu Iwasa replaces Liam Lawson<br \/>Red Bull: Arvid Lindblad replaces Max Verstappen<br \/>Williams: Luke Browning replaces Carlos Sainz<\/p>\n<p>Read next:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetf1.com\/features\/max-verstappen-f1-goat-mclaren-nervy\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Is Max Verstappen about to settle the F1 GOAT debate?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A ninth team has added itself to the list of constructors opting to utilise one of their mandatory&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[821,2495,64,63,817,826,813,816,5328,818,913,945,139791,44,9107,918,85,819],"class_list":["post-232327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-alpine","tag-aston-martin","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-ferrari","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-haas","tag-home-page","tag-mclaren","tag-mercedes","tag-mexican-grand-prix","tag-news","tag-racing-bulls","tag-red-bull","tag-sports","tag-williams"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}