Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti will deputise for George Russell in FP1 at this weekend’s Mexico Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

The swap will see Vesti make his third FP1 appearance of the F1 2026 season.

George Russell to sit out Mexican Grand Prix FP1

Vesti has been a part of the Mercedes programme since 2021 and made his Formula 1 weekend debut at the 2023 Mexican Grand Prix, when he replaced Russell for FP1.

The Danish reserve driver has covered six practice sessions, with this weekend’s outing at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez marking his seventh, and his third of the season.

Under F1’s regulations, teams are required to field a rookie driver, which is defined as a driver who has made no more than two Grand Prix starts, in four FP1 sessions (two in each car) over the course of a season.

While Vesti replaced Kimi Antonelli in Barcelona and Hungary, this will be the first time he has driven Russell’s car. That means the Briton will have to give up his seat once again during the final rounds of the season.

Simone Resta, Mercedes’ deputy technical director, said: “This weekend, we’ll have Fred contributing to our development, he’s going to be sitting in George’s car for FP1.

“It’s a very important aspect for us because it’s the ideal bridge between our performance on track and our virtual world.

“And his good contributions given to a team, we really appreciate this work from him.”

Vesti confirmed the news on social media.

Some good news for a Tuesday! I’ll be driving FP1 in Mexico City in the W17 👏

Thanks to the team @MercedesAMGF1 as always for the opportunity. See you all there! https://t.co/GskHirSeL4

— Frederik Vesti Official (@frederik_vesti) October 27, 2026

“I have some good news to share with you,” said the 24-year-old. “On Friday in Mexico City, I’ll be doing FP1 in George’s W17. So huge thank you to George for letting me drive your car.

“The last time I drove was in Budapest, so a lot has happened on this car since. So I can’t wait to feel W17 once again.

“Thank you to the team for letting me drive, it means a lot. So let’s go do it. See you in Mexico.”

Mercedes heads to Mexico with Antonelli just two points away from securing a maiden world title. The Italian only needs to finish ninth on Sunday to be crowned F1’s youngest-ever world champion.

As for Russell, he’s fighting to hold onto second place in the Drivers’ Championship where he is only a point ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with Max Verstappen a further five points off the pace