At the end of the championship, the teams will stop in Abu Dhabi for the Pirelli tests ahead of the 2023 season. The track program includes 2 cars for each team in action. One of these will be reserved for rookies, who have already had more importance this season with the two free practice sessions, reserved for them on race weekends, mandatory for the teams. In home Mercedes, Departure time di De Vries, which will move officially in Alpha Tauri – led the team to turn to another young talent from their nursery, who debut on the W13 in Abu Dhabi on 21 and 22 November, dedicated to the Pirelli tests. Let's find out who it is.
Mercedes, space for young people
Attention to young people, in identifying and supporting talents that have not yet blossomed, has always been a cornerstone of the Mercedes philosophy. The German company firmly believes that the future lies with the new generations. They prove it Russell, Ocon, DeVries. Three riders who have come to compete in the top category, some for the parent team as in the case of Russell promoted in 2022. Some have been ferried instead to other teams such as Ocon, a top driver in Alpine and De Vries in AlphaTauri, again with the mediation of Mercedes.
There are also those who, very young, have been followed by the team in other categories, from karting to Formula 2, Formula 4. Among these is the very young Italian driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, fresh from titles in Italian and German F4, but also others such as Paul Aron, Yuanpu Cui, Luna Fluxa, Daniel Guinchard, Alex Powell and Frederik Vesti. He will be the very last to take part in the test session in Abu Dhabi.
Frederik Vesti ready for debut
Frederik born in Vejle, Denmark in 2002 joined the Mercedes junior team in the 2021 season. After winning two Danish karting championships in 2013 and 2014, he progressed rapidly through the Danish Formula Ford and both the Danish F4 and ADAC series, finishing fourth in the latter in 2018.
The following season Frederik moved up to the European Formula Regional Championship with Prema, taking the title with 13 wins from 24 races. In 2020 with Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant as teammates he finished fourth in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, obtaining three victories. With the support of Mercedes in 2022, after a second season in F3, with the ART team, he landed in F2. At the moment he is eighth, with a victory in the Sprint in Baku and 4 podiums – but the Abu Dhabi finale could earn him fourth place, 9 points behind. Regardless of the finale, the young 20-year-old Dane will be on board a Mercedes W13 for testing at Yas Marina.
Vesti commented on the news as follows: "A childhood dream come true – wrote the 20-year-old Dane on Twitter. “On November 22, I will complete my first ever test in a Formula 1 Mercedes in the Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test! It is an incredible sign of trust from Mercedes, which I thank".
