From Antonelli’s Monza crash to Kubica’s fastest time: seven F1 Friday debuts

Freddie Slater and Nikola Tsolov are due to make their first F1 practice appearances in Mexico City on Friday, for Audi and Racing Bulls respectively. One of their most striking precedents is Kimi Antonelli: at 18, he set the fastest time in his first FP1 at Monza in 2024, then crashed at Parabolica after only 10 minutes.

Robert Kubica made his F1 weekend debut with BMW Sauber at the 2006 Bahrain opener and topped the first session. He replaced Jacques Villeneuve at the Hungarian Grand Prix later that year; a podium followed two races later in Italy. Sebastian Vettel’s first Grand Prix weekend appearance came in BMW Sauber Friday practice at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, followed by four more Friday outings. He made his race debut in 2007 at the United States Grand Prix in place of the injured Kubica, then joined Toro Rosso later that year. A wet-weather win in Italy in 2008 preceded four consecutive Red Bull titles from 2010 to 2013.

Max Verstappen made his first F1 appearance for Toro Rosso at 17, in FP1 ahead of the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. He finished 12th and received two more Friday outings before a race seat in 2015. Red Bull promoted him four races into 2016; he won on his debut for the team at the Spanish Grand Prix and later claimed four consecutive titles from 2021 to 2024.

Charles Leclerc’s first FP1 came for Haas at the 2016 British Grand Prix; he was P18 and took part in three more sessions that season. More Friday running with Sauber in 2017 came before a full-time seat there in 2018, then a Ferrari move in 2019. George Russell made his first FP1 appearance for Force India at the 2017 Brazilian Grand Prix after securing that year’s GP3 title. He was 12th fastest in Brazil and P11 in Abu Dhabi; his 2018 F2 title led to a Williams race seat before he moved to Mercedes in 2022.

Lando Norris was still in F2 when he drove Fernando Alonso’s McLaren in FP1 at the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix. He finished P18, one place ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne, then was handed six more Friday outings before his full-time drive in 2019. Norris eventually won the 2025 Drivers’ Championship by two points over Max Verstappen.

A day after the Monza crash, Antonelli was announced as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes for 2025; he later had another FP1 outing in Mexico. His rookie season yielded three podiums; nine wins in 2026 have put him on the brink of the drivers’ title.