Alpine to Run Gabriele Mini in Mexico FP1

Overview

• Alpine confirmed late Tuesday that 21‑year‑old Gabriele Mini will replace Franco Colapinto in Free Practice 1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix so Mini can make his first official FP1 appearance.
• Franco Colapinto will sit out the opening session to allow Mini to collect on‑track data and give Alpine feedback from the A526 without changing the team’s race lineup for the weekend.
• The switch is part of a wider pattern at Mexico where teams use FP1 to meet the FIA’s season rookie‑entry rule that effectively requires four rookie outings per car across the year.
• Other teams are doing the same in Mexico, with Frederik Vesti set to drive George Russell’s Mercedes in FP1 and Williams fielding reserve Luke Browning, showing the session is being used for development rather than race selection.
• Mini has run Alpine’s Testing of Previous Cars programmes and will get hands‑on experience in current machinery, which could speed his development and give Alpine fresh setup data for the weekend while Pierre Gasly still needs to surrender one required session this season.