31 July 2023 , 13:54
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George Russell is set to miss FP1 at October's Mexican Grand Prix with Frederik Vesti set to make his Formula 1 weekend debut, Mirror Sport understands.
Teams are obliged to give inexperienced drivers time behind the wheel in two practice sessions per season. So far, after 12 Grands Prix, no team has swapped out any of their regular drivers.
Mercedes will change that from their side at the Mexico race in October. The Silver Arrows will give Formula 2 title contender Vesti his first taste of an FP1 session on an F1 race weekend.
Mirror Sport understands that the plan is for Russell to sit out to make room for him. This has not been set in stone, though, with the possibility of Lewis Hamilton being sidelined instead.
An official announcement is expected this week. But Vesti spoke excitedly about the plan in conversation with TV broadcaster Viaplay.
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"The feeling that I have to drive an official Formula 1 practice session with Lewis Hamilton next to me is completely crazy. And that's all I've ever dreamed of," said the Dane.
Vesti is well in the F2 title fight this season and is just 12 points behind current standings leader Theo Pourchaire. He was leading heading into the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, but left with just three points from the Sprint and nothing to show for the Feature race.
Frederik Vesti will get his first taste of on-track action on an F1 race weekend (Getty Images)The 21-year-old suffered a spin on the way to the grid in extremely wet conditions, causing damage to his Prema which could not be fixed. Instead, he had to watch from the sidelines and hope his title rivals would not score too highly.
Unfortunately for Vesti, that did not turn out to be the case. Pourchaire led for some time but was eventually passed by Jack Doohan, who benefitted from the timing of a safety car to climb into victory contention. The Aussie got the job done, but the Frenchman still finished second to take the lead in the championship.
Doohan is now just 38 points behind Pourchaire thanks to his win, and sits fourth with Ayumu Iwasa sandwiched between him and Vesti. With three rounds left in the season, the title race in the F1 feeder series remains wide open.