Mercedes confirms Frederik Vesti for FP1 session in Barcelona

Mercedes has confirmed that Frederik Vesti will be appearing in Free Practice 1 of this weekend's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix for the team.

The Dane will be taking over the W17 of Kimi Antonelli for the first session of the Formula 1 weekend, getting his first chance in the current generation of cars.

Vesti was confirmed earlier this year as Mercedes' Third Driver for the 2026 campaign, and last drove for the team in the post-season Abu Dhabi tests at the end of 2025.

"Fred will also drive Kimi’s car in FP1," Mercedes F1 Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff said. "He has been an important part of our development work with the W17 and in helping us understand how to unlock more from the package. This session is a good opportunity for him to connect that simulator work with the real car, and for us to gather another useful data point as we keep working to improve."