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Mercedes has announced that its reserve and test driver, Frederik Vesti, will replace George Russell for the FP1 session at the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend. The Danish driver has been a part of the German team since 2021, when he joined a junior driver with the former world champions.
After impressing everyone with his skills in the junior categories, the 23-year-old moved to Sportscar racing after failing to get a seat at the pinnacle of motorsport. Vesti is currently in his second year as a reserve driver for the Brackley-based outfit and has shared the duties with Mick Schumacher in 2024 and Valtteri Bottas this year.
Frederik Vesti, who spent last year working in the simulator and is currently balancing his duties as a reserve driver with his first year in IMSA Racing for Cadillac, expressed his gratitude to Mercedes for getting an FP1 driver to replace George Russell and said (via F1.com):
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“I am really looking forward to getting my first taste of the W16 in FP1 in Bahrain. Being able to put all of my simulator work into practice on the track is a really exciting prospect for me. At the start of the year, I set myself the goal of maximizing every chance I get behind the wheel of an F1 car in 2025, and that is what I hope to achieve in Bahrain."
“I will be doing everything I can to help the team, George, and Kimi get set for the rest of the weekend. I am grateful to Mercedes for once again giving me this opportunity,” he added.
Vesti will be part of a slew of young drivers replacing full-time drivers in other teams and for the FP1 session in Bahrain this weekend.
Mercedes F1 director heaps praise on George Russell's evolution as team leader
Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin stated that George Russell's evolution as team leader after Lewis Hamilton in the 2025 season had been "encouraging".
Shovlin reflected on the young Brit and told the media in Japan:
“Certainly within the team, he's very calm. He seems very confident. He's done a great job in the first [few] races, so that's been really encouraging. He just seems to be very relaxed in his position in the team now and he's just going about getting the points, trying to qualify as well as he can. He's pushing us hard to improve and he's doing a lot of work himself.”
George Russell is currently P4 in the drivers' standings with 45 points after three races and one Sprint. Owing to his back-to-back podium finishes in Australia and China, the 27-year-old sits just four points behind McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and 17 points behind leader Lando Norris.
