Mercedes sign Vesti to junior driver programme

Mercedes has signed rising Danish star Frederik Vesti to its junior driver programme.

The 19-year-old shone during his maiden Formula 3 campaign last year with Prema Racing, particularly over the latter half of the season.

Vesti won two feature races at Monza and Mugello and was second in the sprint race at Spa en route to finishing fourth in the standings, 19.5 points behind team-mate and champion Oscar Piastri as Prema comfortably clinched the teams' title.

For the coming F3 campaign, Vesti is to race with ART, who previously helped former Mercedes juniors George Russell and Esteban Ocon into F1.

Prior to F3, Vesti was the inaugural Formula Regional European Champion with Prema Powerteam in 2019, winning 13 of 24 races.

Vesti initially started out in Formula Ford Denmark in 2016 before finishing second in the F4 Danish Championship with Vesti Motorsport the following year.

Across 2017 and '18, Vesti also competed in the F4 ADAC Championship with Van Amersfoort Racing, claiming seventh and then fourth respectively in the standings.

Vesti said: "It is a huge milestone in my career and it is something I have worked VERY intensely for over a long period of time.

"Thank you to Toto and the team for their trust in me and my future."

#WelcomeFred ✍️ @frederik_vesti is officially a Mercedes Junior Driver ?

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) January 19, 2021

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Lewis Hamilton out of line with criticism as Ferrari legend says team 'deserves respect'

• 50 minutes ago

Verstappen told to block 'GP' exit, $70million Norris talks, Ricciardo to Williams - F1 Transfer Roundup

• 1 hour ago

F1 Driver Salaries: Norris set to overtake Hamilton as '$70m contract talks' revealed

• 3 hours ago

F1 News Today: Hamilton admission, Newey's wife takes down critic, FIA steward quit in penalty row

• Today 11:40

Honda boss wants to 'make history with Fernando Alonso', he just doesn't know when

• Today 10:57

Max Verstappen told to block Lambiase McLaren transfer: 'Money changes everything'

• Today 09:47