Frederik Vesti to compete in FP1 with Mercedes in Bahrain

Dino Beganovic won't be the only rookie to participate in Free Practice 1 of the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday. The Swede will be joined by another Scandinavian: Frederik Vesti. The Dane, vice-champion of F2 in 2023 and now reserve driver at Mercedes, will be driving the W16 during the first test session. He will take his place in the car of George Russell during FP1 on the Sakhir circuit.

Fred to drive in FP1! 🙌

He'll be in George's W16 for Friday in Bahrain

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—Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 8, 2025

“I’m really looking forward to experiencing the W16 on the first day of testing in Bahrain, Frederik Vesti is delightedBeing able to put all the work I've been doing in the simulator into practice on the track is a really exciting prospect for me. I'm grateful to Mercedes for giving me this opportunity again. At the start of the year, I set myself the goal of maximizing every chance I had of getting behind the wheel of an F1 car in 2025, and that's what I hope to achieve in Bahrain. I'll do everything I can to help the team, George and Kimi prepare for the rest of the weekend."

Frederik Vesti, 23, had already competed in two Free Practice sessions in 2023, also with Mercedes, in Mexico and Abu Dhabi. Last year, he took part in the post-season tests in Abu Dhabi. Alongside his reserve driver duties with the German team, the Dane is racing in Endurance : this season, he is engaged with Cadillac in IMSA and he will dispute the 24H of Le Mans next June with the American manufacturer.

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