George Russell and Pierre Gasly among five F1 stars to be replaced at Mexican GP
Several names less familiar to Formula 1 viewers will be taking to the Mexican Grand Prix track on Friday, replacing some more established racing stars.
F1 rules dictate teams must allow rookies to take part in at least two FP1 sessions per season. But with only four rounds left in 2023 there have been very few examples of teams doing so as they all leave their obligations as late as possible.
Of the final four race weekends, the Brazilian Grand Prix will see the Sprint format used, while extra reconnaissance work will be required to learn the new Las Vegas track. That means neither of those weekends are ideal for blooding young drivers.
So teams are making their mandatory switches at the Abu Dhabi season finale and, first, Mexico. There will be no fewer than five rookies on track in FP1 on Friday – here's a lowdown of who you will be watching drive.
Oliver Bearman - Haas
Young Brit Bearman is building quite the reputation for himself. Aged just 18, the Ferrari driver academy starlet from Chelmsford is already a race winner at Formula 2 level and is in contention to finish this season as the top rookie in the series.
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Through his Ferrari connections, Bearman will be driving one of the Haas cars in Mexico – though the team has not confirmed whether it will be Kevin Magnussen or Nico Hulkenberg who sits out. To prepare, Bearman spent the Qatar Grand Prix weekend trackside with Haas and has tested an old Ferrari car at Fiorano.
Jack Doohan - Alpine
More experienced than Bearman in that regard is Aussie racer Doohan. Son of former motorcycle road racing world champion and motorsport legend Mick Doohan, the 20-year-old is close to the end of his third season of F2 action and drove in two FP1 sessions for Alpine last year.
Motorsport greatness is in Alpine junior driver Jack Doohan's blood (HOCH ZWEI/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)And he is going to repeat the trick this team, also in Mexico and Abu Dhabi. Doohan has spent plenty of time behind the wheel of F1 cars already and should be able to provide detailed feedback to the team and to Pierre Gasly, who will spend FP1 in the Alpine garage.
Isack Hadjar - AlphaTauri
Red Bull have no fewer than six current F2 drivers on the books, but that will soon change as the team streamlines its young driver programme. Hadjar, one of just two expected survivors of that cull, is set for his first FP1 appearance this weekend with AlphaTauri.
The French-Algerian racer sits 14th in the championship in his maiden F2 season and is highly thought-of by Red Bull taskmaster Helmut Marko. His outing in Mexico will see Yuki Tsunoda put his feet up for the first practice session.
Red Bull junior Hadjar will drive for sister team AlphaTauri (Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool)Theo Pourchaire - Alfa Romeo
Frenchman Pourchaire sits at the top of the standings heading into the final round of the F2 season and so is well placed to go one better than his runner-up finish in the championship last year. Winning the F2 title is no guaranteed ticket to F1, but he will do his chances no harm by getting the job done in Abu Dhabi.
First, the Alfa Romeo junior has another job to do in Mexico. Filling in for the experienced Valtteri Bottas in FP1, Pourchaire will take part in his second F1 practice session after a debut showing in Austin last year, and has already been confirmed as the team's reserve driver for 2024.
Frederik Vesti - Mercedes
Bearman's Prema team-mate Vesti is Pourchaire's chief F2 title threat, 25 points behind the Frenchman. But before he can think about how he is going to get the better of his rival, he has an important job to do for a Mercedes team which has not always found it easy to set up its temperamental W14 cars in practice this year.
So his feedback will be vital to how George Russell's weekend goes in Mexico City. Luckily for the Brit, Danish driver Vesti already has experience behind the wheel of an F1 car and will be trusted to do the job well by Mercedes.
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