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Mercedes has confirmed that Kimi Antonelli will sit out first practice at this weekend's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, with Frederik Vesti taking over his car for the opening session.
The move forms part of the mandatory rookie running requirements for the 2026 season, with every team required to field a rookie driver in four FP1 sessions across the campaign. Mercedes is not alone in making a change in Barcelona, as Williams and Cadillac have also adjusted their Friday line-ups.
Vesti will step into Antonelli's seat as Mercedes manages its rookie-session obligations at a point when its regular driver is carrying major momentum. The Dane is already embedded within the team as Mercedes' official reserve driver, and the car will be entrusted to someone familiar with the Silver Arrows environment.
That continuity matters. FP1 mileage is limited, and teams cannot afford a disjointed opening hour when race-weekend preparation begins. Vesti has already taken part in several first-practice sessions for Mercedes, which should help reduce the operational disruption of removing one of the team's race drivers from the first session.
For Antonelli, the temporary absence comes during an exceptional run of form. The 19-year-old arrives at the seventh round of the season with a 66-point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' standings, underlining just how emphatically he has started the campaign.
Antonelli's Barcelona FP1 absence does not change the wider competitive picture. He has won five consecutive races and, last time out, became the youngest driver to win the Monaco Grand Prix. For more on the significance of that result and his title position, read our analysis of how Antonelli extended his championship lead to 66 points after Monaco.
Mercedes will therefore approach Friday with two priorities: satisfying the rookie-session requirement while ensuring Antonelli's weekend preparation is not compromised beyond the unavoidable loss of FP1 running. With Vesti in the car, the team has opted for a known quantity rather than a disruptive experiment.
Barcelona will feature further FP1 changes elsewhere on the grid. Luke Browning will replace Alex Albon at Williams, a move that aligns with the team's rookie programme. Williams has already outlined Browning's Barcelona involvement, with more details available in our report on Luke Browning's Williams FP1 runs in Barcelona and Austria.
Cadillac will also hand an FP1 opportunity to Colton Herta, who is set to make his first practice debut for Formula 1's newest team in place of Sergio Perez.
The result is a Barcelona opening practice session with a distinctly developmental edge: three teams balancing immediate race preparation against the structured rookie-running demands of the 2026 season.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.
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