Is Fred Vesti gearing up for F1?

Written by Jiya Mahapatra, Edited by Hugh W

There are a number of impressive young drivers in Formula 2, a lot of whom are rumoured to be joining Formula 1 soon. One of those names is Danish driver Frederik Vesti, who is currently driving for Prema Racing.

This year is his second season in F2, and it has been his most successful year so far; as a result of winning 5 races this season (including sprints), he is currently second in the championship, and has had a competitive battle with Theo Pourchaire all year long.

Vesti celebrating his F2 sprint race win in Monza; Credits: Joe Portlock/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images

It seems as though a certain F1 team has their eyes on this young talent. He’s a member of the Mercedes Junior Team, who not only give him access to simulators and training equipment, but they also give him opportunities to drive their cars.

Last year, the Dane drove for Mercedes in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, and he put on quite a show. After completing 124 laps, and finishing milliseconds ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell himself, his performance was labelled ‘faultless’ by trackside engineer Andrew Shovlin.

After making a fantastic first impression, it was recently announced that he would be driving the Mercedes W14 during the first free practice session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, in addition to an FP1 outing earlier at Mexico.

Vesti preparing to drive for Mercedes during Formula 1 testing in Abu Dhabi; Credits: Joe Portlock - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

It’s clear that professionals from the German team have been impressed by Vesti. In fact, Toto Wolff himself said:

“Fred has executed an impressive Formula 2 campaign this season”. Wolff then went on to describe Vesti as a “talented young driver, not only quick but thoughtful, and he understands exactly what the team is looking for from him in the car”.

Being labelled as a ‘talented’ driver by one of the most powerful individuals in this sport will be highly valuable for Vesti - with quotes like those, you can be sure that he will be on some of the F1 teams’ radars in the near future.

Vesti is certainly an exciting driver to follow, and from what we’ve seen of his performance in the last couple of years, chances are that you’ll be seeing him flying through a circuit in an F1 car soon - the likelihood being in a Mercedes affiliated team, such as Williams. Regardless, we at DIVEBOMB cannot wait to see what his future holds.