BWT Alpine Formula One Team continues the North American double-header this weekend at the Mexico City Grand Prix for Round 20 of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship season.

Reserve Driver Paul Aron will take over Pierre Gasly’s seat for Free Practice 1 as part of the mandatory rookie outing requirement, his second in Alpine colours this year

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez presents a unique challenge for teams and drivers with the circuit situated at 2,240 metres above sea level, making it the highest track on the calendar. The extreme altitude and thin air impact Formula One cars in numerous ways including reducing the amount of downforce and drag they can produce. Even with a 1.2km main straight, the car will run with a high-downforce level, and still produce some of the highest top speeds of the year. The air density also creates challenges for cooling with less air able to enter the car and teams will increase the openings in the brakes and bodywork to counter this. Cars still reach top speeds of 350km/h on the main straight while the final sector, winding through the Foro Sol Stadium, is an iconic feature of the track with the passionate fans filling the grandstands.

Pierre Gasly:

“We have lots to review after Austin. We were far off our full potential during the second half of the race and we were stuck in a lot of traffic after our compromised pit-stop, which is something I am keen to review with the team. Up until then, I did feel we had more potential, especially after two relatively decent Qualifying performances and a competitive Sprint. Immediately afterwards on Sunday evening we began debriefing the weekend internally and I know a lot of work has already gone into preparing the upcoming race in Mexico City. As planned, I will be sitting out Free Practice 1 on Friday to allow Paul [Aron] to get behind the wheel for the mandatory rookie session. I will aim to be back up to speed quickly for Free Practice 2 in the afternoon and adapt to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez which is a very different circuit to COTA with some very unique challenges.”

Franco Colapinto:

“It was a challenging weekend in Austin where I struggled a lot with the car. Having just one practice session, the tricky conditions and not being able to find the right balance all played into a tough weekend on my side. We need to understand more closely why we struggled so much with the car and work to fix this going forward, even if we know we’re in for a difficult end to the year with the package we have. The team situation on Sunday has been discussed internally and it is clear that instructions by the team must always be followed no matter what. We are all together, and we are all working towards the same goal to keep getting better with each session and each race weekend. I am looking ahead now to Mexico City where the atmosphere is always amazing. It will be great to have so much support over the weekend and although the high altitude of the circuit adds an additional challenge, I am excited to get back out on track in front of such an incredible crowd.”

Paul Aron:

“I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the A525 for my latest Free Practice 1 session with the team. I enjoyed the experience in Monza a lot and found it incredibly useful for my own personal development as a driver and my understanding of the car. I’m ready to build on that this weekend in Mexico City in Pierre’s car. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a very different track to any I have driven. It is high altitude which will make the handling of the car and the setup we choose very different to most other circuits and I’m looking forward to that challenge. I’m very grateful to the team for granting me this further opportunity and will do whatever is needed to help them set up a competitive weekend.”