Colapinto to sit out Mexican GP FP1 as Alpine hand junior driver F1 weekend debut

Alpine will hand Formula 2 driver Gabriele Mini his maiden FP1 outing at this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, with the Italian replacing Franco Colapinto for the session.

Mini’s run will tick off Alpine’s third rookie outing of the season, following reserve driver Paul Aron’s appearances in Hungary and Italy.

Gabriele Mini to make his F1 weekend debut in Mexican Grand Prix FP1

Mini joined the Alpine Academy in 2023 and entered the Formula 3 championship with Hitech Pulse-Eight, finishing seventh in the Drivers’ standings.

Moving to Prema the following season, he finished runner-up to McLaren junior Leonardo Fornaroli before entering Formula 2 with the team.

In his second season now, and having switched to MP Motorsport, Mini is fourth in the standings having won the Miami feature race and the Sprint in Hungary.

Having taken part in a Testing of Previous Cars programme with Alpine in July, Mini will have his first outing in the current-generation A526 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

“I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the A526 and taking part in my first ever Free Practice 1 in Formula One.

“Having been part of the Alpine Academy for several years and progressing through the junior ranks, competing in an official Formula One session is going to be a really special moment for me.

“Thank you to Flavio, Steve and everyone at the team for their trust and for the opportunity.

“I’ve been doing a lot of preparation back at base in Enstone, spending time on the simulator and working closely with the engineers to make sure I’m as ready as possible and able to put my best foot forward both personally and for the team.”

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Mini is one of two drivers who will make their F1 race weekend debut in Mexico, with Formula 3 runner-up Freddie Slater behind the wheel of the Audi R26.

They’ll be joined by several other juniors, including Leonardo Fornaroli in the McLaren, Mercedes’ Frederik Vesti and Williams’ Luke Browning.

“I’m happy to be back in the FW48 and grateful to be trusted by Atlassian Williams F1 Team with all four of the team’s rookie FP1 sessions this year,” said Browning.

“It’s a great opportunity to get more laps in the car, while building my understanding of the new package and bringing useful data and feedback back to Grove.

“Each session teaches you something new, and I will take every bit of learning I can from this to help keep pushing my development and the team forward.”

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