Report: Frederick Vesti in contention to do Mercedes F1 run during Abu Dhabi young driver test

Report: Frederick Vesti in contention to do Mercedes F1 run during Abu Dhabi young driver test

Frederick Vesti

Frederick Vesti, the Danish F2 driver, has recently popped up as a surprise contender to do the upcoming young driver test for the mighty Mercedes F1 team.

Frederick Vesti is currently doing his trade in F2 for the ART Grand Prix team and is also a member of the Mercedes Junior Team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ0eP4jANkA

The upcoming test is going to involve two cars per team, with race drivers running the 2023 Pirelli tires in one livery, and the newbies, who have not done more than two Grand Prix starts, in the other machinery.

Nyck De Vries’s move to AlphaTauri has opened a vacancy on the team for the young driver test, and considering Vesti has been with the Silver Arrows since 2021, he is the most obvious and sensible option that Mercedes has got at its disposal.

Nyck de Vries (IMAGO / HochZwei)
Nyck de Vries

Moreover, the Danish driver has been in close contact with the team recently, as he has done a bit of simulator work for the team in Brackley, and is bound to do more next year, with Nyck De Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne on their way out.

Frederick Vest will gain valuable experience by jumping in a Mercedes F1 car

Mercedes W-13
Mercedes W-13

The Mercedes F1 Team is one of the top teams in the pinnacle of motor racing and the chance of taking its livery for a spin, is something, that does not come around often, especially for young drivers.

Spending a day in the W13 will surely help Frederick Vesti in gaining valuable knowledge and experience that is required if one wants to make it into F1, moreover, the hype around Vesti getting a run for Mercedes has not come from totally out of the blue, as the 20-year-old has an extremely impressive CV.

Vesti was a star during his karting days and was quickly able to make his mark in the ADAC F4 series, in which he finished fourth in 2018. Next up, he won the Formula Regional European Championship with Prema before moving up to F3 in the same year.

For his second F3 season, he moved to ART on the back of getting the support of Mercedes, but, it was not a very fruitful year, as Frederick Vesti won only one race.

Fredrick Vesti
Frederick Vesti

However, the 2022 F2 campaign has brought more success to the 20-year-old as he managed to win the Baku Sprint race and has also amassed four podium finishes.

He is currently eighth in the Championship with only Abu Dhabi left on the calendar, but despite being in P8, he has every chance of going up to P4, he is only 9 points adrift of it.

Getting a chance with Mercedes during the young driver test will help Frederick Vesti in honing his skills as a driver and might also help in opening up F1 opportunities in the future.