Franco Colapinto, George Russell to sit out FP1 at F1 Mexico GP
Gabriele Mini is set to make his Formula 1 race weekend debut, driving Franco Colapinto’s Alpine in Free Practice 1 at the Mexico Grand Prix.
The erstwhile Formula 2 championship leader, now lying fourth in the standings with a very slim title chance assuming the final two rounds proceed as planned, has been an Alpine protege since the start of the 2023 season following his runner-up campaign in the Formula Regional European Championship.
Also a Formula 3 runner-up, Mini has been gaining F1 experience courtesy of Alpine’s Testing of Previous Cars [TPC] programme and will now step up to the current, vastly different machinery at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
“I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the A526 and taking part in my first ever Free Practice 1 in Formula 1,” Mini said.
“Having been part of the Alpine Academy for several years and progressing through the junior ranks, competing in an official Formula 1 session is going to be a really special moment for me. Thank you to Flavio [Briatore, team boss], Steve [Nielsen, managing director] and everyone at the team for their trust and for the opportunity.
Gabriele Mini, MP Motorsport
Photo by: Dom Gibbons / Formula 1 via Getty Images
“I’ve been doing a lot of preparation back at base in Enstone, spending time on the simulator and working closely with the engineers to make sure I’m as ready as possible and able to put my best foot forward both personally and for the team. My goal is to do the best possible job on track and help provide valuable data and feedback to the team to hopefully set up a successful weekend, where both Pierre [Gasly] and Franco aim to score points by the end of it.”
Teams are fielding youngsters aplenty for FP1 in Mexico in order to fulfill the year-long requirement of four rookie entries – two per car across the season. At Alpine, Mini’s outing will be the third of the sort, following reserve driver Paul Aron’s appearances at the Hungaroring and Monza.
Meanwhile at Williams, reserve Luke Browning will get his eighth and ninth career FP1 entries in Mexico and Brazil, replacing Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.
“I’m happy to be back in the FW48 and grateful to be trusted by Atlassian Williams F1 Team with all four of the team’s rookie FP1 sessions this year,” said Browning, currently a lowly 13th in his maiden Super Formula campaign.
“It’s a great opportunity to get more laps in the car, while building my understanding of the new package and bringing useful data and feedback back to Grove. Each session teaches you something new, and I will take every bit of learning I can from this to help keep pushing my development and the team forward.”
George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images
2023 F2 runner-up Frederik Vesti will get his third outing of the season with Mercedes in Mexico, driving George Russell’s W17. “Huge thank you to George for letting me drive your car,” the Dane said, though perhaps Russell would have preferred to take part in all three practice sessions after experiencing “six good laps, 50 bad laps” in Austin, which he was at a loss to understand.
As previously reported, Freddie Slater will fulfill Audi’s rookie outings in Mexico and Brazil, after Alpine’s Aron was loaned to the team at Barcelona and the Red Bull Ring.
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