Meet the nine rookies stepping in for FP1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix
- Kavi Khandelwal
- 34 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Written by Kavi Khandelwal, Edited by Meghana Sree
The first free practice session at the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix will field nine rookies to fulfil mandatory FIA obligations. First introduced in 2022, the rules were doubled in 2025, now requiring teams to give up four FP1 sessions per season to showcase new talent.
Giving rookies the wheel in Mexico City is a strategic move, evidenced by all teams barring Sauber giving one of their cars to fresh talent during FP1. With the season ending, most drivers understand their car's setup, making the sacrifice of a practice session less painful.
Furthermore, the upcoming races like Brazil and Qatar are sprint weekends with only one practice session before qualifying. This makes Mexico City the last safe and logical option for teams to complete their mandatory rookie quotas.
Here is a guide to the nine rookies taking the wheel at FP1 in the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix.
McLaren: Pato O’Ward in Lando Norris’ McL39
At 26, he stands as the 2018 Indy Lights Champion and a top-tier driver for Arrow McLaren in the IndyCar series with nine wins. More recently, Pato O’Ward finished the 2025 season as the Championship runner-up. He is also a two-time winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
The Mexican driver is also the official Reserve Driver of McLaren’s F1 team. This is his second consecutive FP1 appearance at his home race.
Mercedes: Frederik Vesti in George Russell’s W16
Fred Vesti is known for his dominant 2019 Formula Regional European Championship title and his 2023 F2 campaign with six race wins. He also finished as the championship runner-up in the 2023 F2 season.
He is currently competing in the IMSA Sportscar Championship in America.
The 23-year-old Dane is a long-standing Mercedes Junior and is one of the official Reserve Drivers for the team. He previously completed two FP1 sessions for the team in 2023.
Ferrari: Antonio Fuoco in Lewis Hamilton’s SF-25
The Italian is the 2013 Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Champion and a GP3/F2 race winner. A star in Ferrari’s Sportscar Programme, Antonio Fuoco raced the 499P Hypercar in WEC and achieved a pole position at the 24 Hours Le Mans in 2023.
He was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2013 to 2018, and has served as an F1 Simulator and Developmental Driver for the Scuderia since 2019.
Red Bull: Arvid Lindblad in Max Verstappen’s RB21
The 18-year-old British-Swedish driver finished third in Italian F4 and had a standout rookie F3 season in 2024 where he finished fourth.
The driver made history earlier in 2025 by winning the F2 Sprint race in Jeddah, making him the youngest ever race winner in the series’ modern history.
Arvid Lindblad is one of the most prized members of the Red Bull Junior Team, and an early favourite for making the leap to Formula One next year.
Williams: Luke Browning in Carlos Sainz’s Williams FW47
The 23-year-old Briton is the 2020 F4 British Champion, 2022 GB3 Champion and the winner of the prestigious 2022 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award.
He also dominated the 2023 Macau Grand Prix. He is currently third in the 2025 F2 standings.
Browning has been a member of the Williams Driver Academy since 2023.
Racing Bulls: Ayumu Iwasa in Liam Lawson’s VCARB 02
At 24-years-old, Ayumu Iwasa was the product of both the Honda Formula Dream Project and the Red Bull Junior Team. He won the 2020 French F4 Championship before moving to Formula 2, where he was a consistent front runner. He finished fourth in F2 in 2023 with three race wins.
Iwasa is the official Reserve driver for the Racing Bulls team. His extensive simulator experience makes him first in line for a potential seat.
Aston Martin: Jak Crawford in Lance Stroll’s AMR25
The 20-year-old was runner up in both NACAM F4 and ADAC F4 before spending two seasons in F3. He finished 5th overall in 2024 FIA F2, and is currently sitting second in the 2025 F2 standings.
Crawford signed with the Aston Martin Young Driver Development Programme in 2024 after several years with the Red Bull Junior Team.
Haas: Ryo Hirakawa in Oliver Bearman’s VF-25
Ryo Hirakawa is a two-time FIA World Endurance Champion (2022, 2023) and the winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2022) with Toyota Gazoo Racing. He also won titles in Japanese Formula 3 and Super GT.
Hirakawa joined Haas as a reserve driver for 2025. His vast experience with complex Hypercar technology and proven speed makes him an invaluable asset for the team.
Alpine: Paul Aron in Pierre Gasly’s A525
The 21-year-old Estonian driver is one of the brightest talents to emerge from the junior formulas. He won the 2018 CIK-FIA European Karting Championship.
He also finished third in the Italian Formula 4, third in the Formula Regional European Championship twice and third in the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship.
He was a long-time member of the Mercedes Junior Team before making a career-defining switch to Alpine at the end of 2024. He serves as the team’s official Test and Reserve Driver for 2025.
The primary objective for these nine rookies is to provide crucial feedback to the team for accurate data correlation. Their ability to manage a low-grip, high-power car is essential as a single mistake could be catastrophic for the team’s weekend.
