Max Verstappen out of the first Mexico practice session: why he’s still sleeping well

Almost half of the 2026 regular drivers will be spectators. In the first free practice session for the Mexican Grand Prix on 30 October, we’ll see ten Friday drivers in action. Only at Ferrari will nothing change – regular drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will be behind the wheel of the red cars.

At Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen will be watching from the sidelines, with Japanese driver Ayumu Iwasa taking the wheel for him. At Mercedes, George Russell will be sitting out, with Danish driver Frederik Vesti behind the wheel. At McLaren, world champion Lando Norris will be taking a break, with Italian driver Leonardo Fornaroli taking his place in the car.

Further changes: Italian Gabriele Mini at Alpine for Franco Colapinto; Bulgarian Nikola Tsolov at Racing Bulls for Liam Lawson; Japanese driver Ryo Hirakawa at Hass for Esteban Ocon; American Jak Crawford at Aston Martin for Lance Stroll; Englishman Luke Browning at Williams for Alex Albon, Englishman Freddie Slater at Audi for Gabriel Bortoleto, and American Colton Herta at Cadillac for Valtteri Bottas.

Max Verstappen can still sleep soundly, though: the loss of track time is limited, as the historic Mexican circuit, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, in particular, is often still very dirty during the first Friday practice session.

Max Verstappen says of the upcoming weekend: “You have very little grip here; you normally compensate for that with steeper wing angles, but everything has its limits. There are certain limits.”

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Soon-to-be world champion Kimi Antonelli: The inevitable will then follow in Mexico

The 20-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli had the chance to secure the 2026 World Championship title at the US Grand Prix. He did everything right: victory in Texas. The title celebrations have nevertheless been postponed. Until Mexico.

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“We have a car whose characteristics suit certain circuits very well, but others less so. I’m not quite sure yet how competitive we’ll be here. There are also plenty of question marks regarding engine and brake cooling, but that’s the case for all teams.”

“We’ve got a few areas that need work. For instance, the radio hasn’t worked properly a few times this year. We’ve looked into that. And our starts need to be more consistent – consistently good, that is. We didn’t use the right race strategy in Austin either. And when all that comes together, it’s simply difficult to win a race. Against that backdrop, it was quite astonishing that we still managed to finish on the podium. Normally we’re very good at executing a Grand Prix, but Texas was simply a weekend where things didn’t go so well. That can happen.”

Kimi Antonelli is highly likely to become the new Formula 1 World Champion this weekend. Max praises him: “In a positive sense, he’s a normal bloke – down-to-earth, decent, funny. He’s surrounded by a very good family; you can really sense that. And he’s put in some outstanding performances this year.”