Among the 10 rookies who took part in FP1 at the 2026 Mexico City GP, Nikola Tsolov, Gabriele Minì, and Freddie Slater reached an important milestone by making their first official F1 weekend appearance.
Driving for Racing Bulls, Alpine, and Audi, respectively, the trio had contrasting experiences, with Tsolov finishing P12, Minì P14, and Slater P21. Meanwhile, Mercedes’ Fred Vesti was the highest-ranked rookie, finishing the practice with an impressive P3 result.
Following the session, the three F1 debutants reflected on their experiences, discussing their preparations, first impressions of the 2026 machinery, and the challenges of driving at the high-altitude Mexico City circuit.
Tsolov: “I really enjoyed it”
With Racing Bulls yet to confirm its driver line-up for the 2027 season, Tsolov‘s FP1 session held greater significance, with the Bulgarian a strong candidate for a seat. With Liam Lawson sitting out, Tsolov completed 29 laps in the VCARB 03, finishing 12th and just 0.126s behind teammate Arvid Lindblad.
Speaking after the 2026 F1 Mexico City GP FP1 session, Tsolov shared:
“Yeah, it was good. Good fun. I really enjoyed it and looking forward to having more opportunities like that, hopefully.
“So, I did one TPC day with last year’s car in Imola, back in August. And then I did a day and a half of sim around two weeks ago with the team in Faenza. And that’s about it. That was my preparation. I think I was ready for it. To be honest, I didn’t really think about it too much, didn’t really stress it, so I managed to arrive in a calm mental state.”
Despite the preperations, the 2026 machinery and the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez presented new learning experiences for Tsolov.
“Yeah, in that sense, for me, I’d say it was okay because I don’t have any reference. So, for me, it’s just what it is. They’ve done already 20 rounds, so they kind of maybe felt different to the other places with the altitude, but definitely, all the electric part of the car and the engine was something that I really had to get used to and it’s something very new for me. So, I think I can do a lot better and just keep on building onto that and learning more about how everything works.”
Tsolov details seat-related issue
Tsolov’s debut session also featured a significant issue, as he briefly had to stop in the garage after losing feeling in his right leg.
“I’ve actually had that a few times before, driving in F2. But, yeah, it’s just the seat, I think, being a bit tighter than what we would like on my right leg. So, my blood flow stopped. So, when you’re pressing full throttle, you move up into the seat, you know? So, then you kind of compress your legs. That was the thing. So, I couldn’t feel it. It was a dead leg, pretty much. You know, you get the tingly feeling and the needles? That was in the beginning and I thought, okay, I’ll get through that. It’s fine. But, at some point, I stopped feeling my legs. So, I had to jump out to…Yeah, I had to shake it out and after two, three minutes, it came back.”
When asked about his final runs on the soft tyres, he concluded:
“Yes. I went medium to soft. Here, it’s not a big jump. The compounds are really close to each other, so that was fine. And I think, yeah, obviously, the track was evolving as well. So, everything was just ramping up. The grip was getting better.”
Minì pleased with first F1 session at 2026 Mexico City GP
Part of the Alpine Academy since 2023, Minì stepped in for Franco Colapinto during FP1, making his first appearance in the 2026 car after completing a Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) in July. The young Italian completed 22 laps, testing various aerodynamic configurations before finishing P14, 0.756s slower than teammate Pierre Gasly.
“Yeah, I mean, it was very cool, you know. First of all, yeah, first official session in F1, which is always very cool, you know, going with the big guys on track. It’s just a weird feeling, but it was amazing,” he explained.
“In the end, it was also a pretty decent session, we did some testings, aero testings for our team. We did not really focus only on lap time, and then managed to also do some push laps, just to try and understand a bit how everything works. It was quite good, I think. Both the team and I are pretty happy about how everything went. We got a bit unlucky with the VSC timing at the end, which really didn’t allow us to do any push laps on softs, just one. But in the end, still, once again, quite happy with how the day went.”
A memorable learning experience
Reflecting on the challenges of driving on the high-altitude track, he shared:
“Well, I mean, in a way, it’s easier because you don’t know, you don’t have any expectations, you know, from other tracks. In other way, of course, I think it’s probably the hardest track to get everything working. Turbo and power unit and everything together. So, for sure doesn’t make my life easier but, in a way, it was not a huge difference, because I, you know, personally haven’t had the references of how the grip and everything should be on a normal track. So, this was all brand new, so I learned from scratch. It’s not that big deal, I think.”
Beyond the circuit, Minì also highlighted the differences between the 2025 and 2026 cars, noting that his on-track experience in the Alpine A526 will help him in future simulator sessions.
“Well, let’s say that a lot of things feel quite different, you know, from the 25’ car, so it’s quite good that I learned it on track, which will be good also for the simulator session. I’d say overall, it’s a very positive thing to do, you know, for me to be on the actual car in a FP session. So yeah, it was just very interesting.”
Slater takes positives from interrupted Audi F1 debut
Meanwhile, at Audi, Slater endured a bittersweet first official FP1 session at the 2026 F1 Mexico City GP. The 18-year-old, who finished runner-up in the 2026 F3 season and is yet to make his F2 debut, saw his running disrupted by a garage error, ultimately completing just 14 laps and finishing P21.
The disruption came when the team noticed that a cooling fan had been left attached to his car. Although it was removed and Slater returned to the track, he was soon called back into the pits, with his session looking over before he made another brief appearance in the final minutes.
Despite missing out on valuable track time, the Briton focused on the positives of the opportunity.
“Yeah, for sure, but at the end of the day, it’s motorsport, and that’s how things go, you know, we’re a team, and we win as a team and we lose as a team. So of course, it was a bit frustrating obviously, not to get many, many laps. But overall that one lap that I did do was actually pretty good compared to relevant data. And a really historic day, you know, for Audi to have their first junior driver in the car. It’s a very special day, so we look at the positives and then we focus on the results.”
From F3 to F1 machinery for Slater
Discussing his impressions of the Audi car, Slater pointed to the track’s challenges and the differences compared to F3. Notably, his experience will prove key ahead of his 2027 F2 campaign with Invicta Racing, as the championship is set to visit Mexico City for the first time next season.
“Definitely an outlier, the car feels very weird, obviously not a lot of aero load because of obviously the altitude. But yeah, also with these cars, with how the battery works, the amount of boost that you get off the corner is incredible, so obviously compared to F3, I haven’t even driven a F2 car yet, so a big step from F3 cars, and so yeah, it’s pretty intense, but I really enjoyed those couple of laps that I got.”
When asked about the feedback and support he has received from Audi so far, Slater continued:
“It’s been quite good obviously, yeah I only had one lap to get a reference, but with that one lap data I got, my feelings are very similar to what they’ve been having all season, and what they said as well. So it means I’ve got a good feeling, and we got in the car straight away and I managed to fit in, and it’s been nice to have the support from Nico and Gabi, and they’ve been very supportive as well, trying to help me in all areas, because at the end of the day we’re the best on the team.”
Slater will have another opportunity to gain F1 experience at the upcoming 2026 São Paulo GP, where he is set to make his second FP1 appearance.
