F1 2026: Kimi Antonelli replaced in Mercedes driver change at Barcelona Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli getting off a boat looking suspicious at the Monaco Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli replaced in Mercedes F1 driver change at Barcelona Grand Prix

Switcheroo in Barcelona

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Tuesday 9 June 2026 17:58 Updated: 18:27

Mercedes will hand their dominant F1 car to their third driver at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix this weekend off the back of another storming win from Kimi Antonelli.

The Italian led every lap of the Monaco Grand Prix to claim his fifth consecutive F1 victory, increasing his lead to 66 points in front of nearest challenger Lewis Hamilton.

However, the 19-year-old will not be in the all conquering W17 at the start of this weekend's event at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya when the first practice session gets underway..

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Vesti in, Antonelli out for FP1

Instead, his seat will go to Mercedes development driver Fred Vesti, who will be making his fifth appearance for the Silver Arrows, before Antonelli gets back in the car for the second practice and the rest of the weekend in a bid to continue his winning streak at a track that has hosted an F1 race every year since 1991.

Vesti, 24, made his F1 debut in 2023's practice session for the Mexican Grand Prix, before making another appearance in the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

The Danish international didn't feature in the 2024 F1 season but returned for practice sessions last year in Bahrain and Mexico again.

Vesti will replace Antonelli for Mercedes in Barcelona.

Mercedes confirmed the news with a social media video, showing a team member giving telling Vesti he had the wrong crash helmet in his hands for this weekend. After giving him his F1 helmet, Vesti replies: "Oh yeah, I'm doing FP1 in Barcelona. I can't wait."

Vesti promoted for 2026 at Mercedes

Vesti stepped up this season from being a reserve driver, to becoming Mercedes' official third driver, and was delighted with his prospects ahead of this season.

“I’m extremely excited to be joining the team, George and Kimi trackside more often this year as Third Driver,” said Vesti. “That’s going to be very cool for me. I’ve worked with this team for five years now, so to step up even closer to my dream of racing in Formula 1, that’s a huge privilege.

“And obviously I’ve been working so hard on this car, W17, with everyone in Brackley, so to get to see it around the world and with F1 is going to be very special.”

F1 Mercedes Kimi Antonelli Frederik Vesti Barcelona-Catalunya Grand prix