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The opening free practice session in Mexico is set to turn into something of a rookie showcase. No fewer than nine teams will be fielding young drivers on Friday, with Sauber being the only exception. Curiously, Oscar Piastri won’t be giving up his car for the session — and that decision could end up costing McLaren later in the season.
Rookie rule explained
Under FIA regulations, each Formula 1 team must run a rookie driver twice per car per season. A “rookie” is defined as anyone who has competed in two or fewer Grands Prix, with no age limit applied. That means even experienced endurance racers like Ryo Hirakawa (Haas) and Antonio Fuoco (Ferrari) will be taking part in Mexico.
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For McLaren, the home crowd will get to see IndyCar star Patricio O’Ward in action. The Mexican driver will step into Lando Norris’s car for FP1, meaning the Brit won’t have to give up his seat again this year. Earlier in the season, Alex Dunne took part in two sessions — one of them in Piastri’s car — fulfilling half of McLaren’s rookie requirement.
Why this could hurt Piastri
That leaves Piastri with one rookie session still to give up, and with the championship fight heating up, the timing couldn’t be worse. The Australian leads the standings by a small margin over teammate Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, both of whom are pushing hard in the closing stages of the season. If McLaren is forced to run a rookie in his car later this year, it could seriously disrupt his rhythm during a crucial weekend.
Abu Dhabi the only option left
After Mexico, only four rounds remain: Brazil, Qatar, Las Vegas, and Abu Dhabi. Two of those (Brazil and Qatar) are sprint weekends, making them off-limits for rookie sessions. Las Vegas is considered too unpredictable — the track is slippery early in the weekend, and rookies have no prior experience there.
That leaves Abu Dhabi as the only realistic option for McLaren to meet the FIA requirement. But for Piastri, that’s far from ideal. If he’s still fighting for the world championship by then, missing valuable practice time could be a significant setback. With every session crucial at the business end of the season, Piastri could end up paying the price for McLaren’s timing.
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