Fred Vesti will make his debut behind the wheel of Mercedes’ W16 in Bahrain, replacing George Russell for Free Practice 1.
Vesti, one of Mercedes F1’s young drivers, will make his debut driving the W16 during the first Free Practice session at the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix.
As a reserve driver and simulator specialist for Mercedes, Vesti has been working alongside George Russell and Kimi Antonelli to assist with car setup throughout race weekends. While Vesti has accumulated the most miles of any W16 driver, all of them have been in a virtual environment.
For the first time, the Danish driver will drive the Mercedes in real-world conditions. Vesti will replace Russell for the 60-minute Free Practice 1 session at the Bahrain GP, which is considered one of the least representative sessions of the season. This is because it takes place during the day, while the second practice session, qualifying, and the race all happen after sunset.
As part of the new 2025 regulations, every team is required to give a car to a rookie driver (one with fewer than two race starts) for Free Practice 1 at least twice during the season, equating to a total of four appearances. Mercedes has already fulfilled half of this obligation with Kimi Antonelli’s participation in the Australian and Chinese Grand Prix, meaning that Russell will miss one more Free Practice session this season to meet the quota.
Vesti had previously substituted for Russell and Lewis Hamilton in Free Practice sessions at the 2023 Mexican and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix. He also took part in the post-season tests for Mercedes in both 2023 and 2024.
- Explore Further>Mercedes Misses Podium, Eyes Stronger Bahrain Push
- Follow us on >FACEBOOK and >TWITTERfor F1 updates