Russell backs Vesti for a potential 2027 Cadillac seat

George Russell has backed Frederik Vesti for Cadillac’s unconfirmed second Formula 1 seat in 2027, saying the Mercedes reserve deserves a chance.

After Vesti replaced him in Friday’s first practice at the Mexico Grand Prix, Russell said: “I think he deserves his chance.” Vesti’s late soft-tyre lap after long-run work put him third, 0.074 seconds behind Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli and 0.733 seconds off pace-setter Charles Leclerc.

Russell said Vesti had often carried much of the workload in his FP1 appearances without getting performance runs. He had asked Mercedes to make sure the reserve had a chance to show what he could do.

Vesti, 24, combines his Mercedes reserve role with Hypercar duties for Cadillac and finished runner-up in the 2023 F2 standings. Cadillac has confirmed Sergio Perez for next season but has not confirmed Valtteri Bottas as his team-mate. Colton Herta, Cadillac’s test driver, is another option, although he still lacks a superlicence. Motorsport.com says Herta is likely to qualify for one by contesting FP1 in Brazil next week.