What happened: Gabriele Mini steps into the cockpit for Friday's opening practice session at the Mexico City Grand Prix through the Alpine Academy programme. The session at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez marks the second stop of Formula 1's autumn triple-header following last weekend's round in Austin.

Why it matters: Mandatory rookie Friday sessions give Alpine an on-track benchmark for its junior pipeline in current-era Formula 1 cars. The track time follows an active stretch off the circuit that included Alpine's commercial agreement with Adobe and Renault's deal to sell the Viry-Chatillon engine facility to Dumarey Group.

What to watch: Mini runs in Friday's opening practice session in Mexico City before Alpine reverts to its regular race lineup for FP2, qualifying, and Sunday's Grand Prix.