Russell to miss Mexico City FP1 as Vesti takes his Mercedes seat

George Russell will miss Free Practice 1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix, with Mercedes reserve Fred Vesti stepping into the W17 for a mandatory young-driver session. It will be the first time this season Russell has had to surrender a session under the requirement.

Vesti previously replaced Kimi Antonelli in FP1 at the Barcelona-Catalunya and Hungarian Grands Prix, when Antonelli sat out to fulfil the requirement; Russell still has one more session to miss this year. Mexico is a common venue for the handover because FP1 takes place on a dusty track, with the regular driver returning for FP2.

Vesti will not be the only young driver in Mexico FP1. Aston Martin is giving Jak Crawford a run, while Audi is to give its protege Freddie Slater his F1 weekend debut in the session.

Russell must win in Mexico to retain any chance of beating Antonelli to the title. He trails his team-mate by 123 points, with 125 still available. If Russell wins, ninth place is enough for Antonelli to clinch; if Lewis Hamilton wins, a 10th-place finish for Antonelli will do. Antonelli is champion if neither Russell nor Hamilton wins.