Mercedes have named Frederik Vesti as one of their reserve drivers for the 2024 Formula 1 season.
The 22-year-old Danish racer joined their young driver programme two years ago when he moved into Formula 2. He finished runner-up to champion Theo Pourchaire last year, the pair separated by 11 points at the end of a season in which Vesti won six races to his rival’s one.
He will share reserve duties with Mick Schumacher. As the former Haas racer is also competing in the World Endurance Championship with Alpine this year, he won’t be available during all 24 rounds on the 2024 F1 calendar.
The news was confirmed as Mercedes launched their new car for the upcoming season. Vesti joined Schumacher plus regular drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. The latter will leave the team at the end of this season and Mercedes is yet to confirm who will take his place.
Mercedes ran Vesti in two Formula 1 practice sessions last year, as all teams are required to give opportunities to inexperienced drivers in each of their cars over the course of a season. He appeared for them at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico and Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
The team said Vesti has now “graduated” from their junior programme. He will not return to F2 for a third season and will instead move into sportscar racing, driving for Cool Racing in the European Le Mans Series. His place in F2 has been taken by another Mercedes junior driver, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is their only representative in F1’s leading support series, Paul Aron having been dropped at the end of last year.
View the current list of 2024 F1 drivers and teams
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