Mercedes promote Vesti to F1 reserve driver alongside Mick Schumacher

Mercedes will have a new reserve driver in the 2024 Formula 1 season. Frederik Vesti will be ready to replace Lewis Hamilton or George Russell if needed, Mercedes confirmed to GPblog. Vesti will share the role of reserve driver with Mick Schumacher.

Vesti reserve driver for Mercedes in 2024

On Valentine's Day, Wednesday, 14 February, Mercedes will present the W15 to the world for the first time. However, there is already news from Brackley about the 2024 line-up: Vesti will join Schumacher as a reserve driver. "Mick has some clashes with his WEC programme, so we will need two reserves this season," Mercedes informs GPblog.

Schumacher will compete on behalf of Alpine in the World Endurance Championship this season, where he will get behind the wheel of the A424 Hypercar. Vesti will compete in six races in the European Le Mans Series with Cool Racing.

Vesti had an extremely successful season in Formula 2 in 2023, in which he won four sprint races and two main races. Despite having the most F2 wins of any driver in 2023, he narrowly missed out on the title, finishing 11 points behind Sauber junior Theo Pourchaire.

Vesti has been part of the Mercedes Junior Team since 2021 and was already active as a test and development driver for the Brackley-based team. The 22-year-old Dane has already driven Mercedes' F1 car several times: in 2022 during the Young Driver test in Abu Dhabi and in 2023 during the first free practice sessions for the Mexico City Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi GP. At the Yas Marina Circuit, he participated in the Young Driver test again after the end of the season.