Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will miss first practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Friday.
Hamilton and Verstappen are among the eight drivers who will give up their seat to a reserve driver for the session.
F1 rules dictate that every team must give up two practice sessions per car to young drivers during the season, increased from one session last season. Mexico’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is a popular choice for making the switch, as a relatively simple circuit with no sprint events taking place this weekend.
Verstappen’s Red Bull seat will be taken up by British-Swedish driver Arvid Lindblad, who is considered one of the most exciting young prospects in motorsport. The 18-year-old, who is the youngest winner in F2 history, appeared in practice at the British Grand Prix earlier this season where his lap time ranked 14th.
Racing Bulls and Sauber are the only teams who will run both their main drivers during the opening session.
There are five races left on the calendar. Mexico City will be followed by trips to Sao Paulo (9 November), Las Vegas (22 November) and Qatar (30 November) before the finale in Abu Dhabi (7 December).
The drivers’ championship is set to go down to the wire. Oscar Piastri leads the standings with 346 points, ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris who is 14 points back on 332. But Verstappen is closing in after winning three of the last four races, and trails Norris by only 26 points on 306.
