P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Friday afternoon’s practice session for the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix will incorporate a Pirelli tyre test looking forward to the 2025 season.
Following the recent United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, Formula 1 is set to return to Checo Perez’s home turf at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez near Mexico City. The F1 Sprint format used last weekend will be replaced by a more traditional schedule, including three practice sessions leading up to qualifying and the Grand Prix. An extended 90-minute FP2 session on Friday will focus on a Pirelli “in competition test,” where all drivers will try out softer compound tyres, including the new prototype C6. This session will include a mandated run plan for each driver to compare the new tyre with existing options. The data collected during FP2 will be utilized in the post-season test following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Several rookie drivers will make appearances in FP1, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, Felipe Drugovich stepping in for Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin, and Robert Shwartzman taking over Zhou Guanyu’s seat at Sauber. To ensure the experienced drivers have sufficient track time amid the tyre test in FP2, they will receive an extra 30 minutes and an additional set of medium tyres. FP2 is scheduled to begin at 16:00 local time on Friday, October 25.
