Vesti says he asked Toto Wolff how to join Mercedes’ junior programme

Fred Vesti says his conversation with Mercedes about joining its junior programme began after he stopped Toto Wolff at a party in Hockenheim.

Mercedes signed Vesti as a junior in 2021, when he was competing in his second Formula 3 season. On Formula 1’s official *F1 Beyond The Grid* podcast, he recalled knowing Wolff would be at the party and approaching him on the red carpet. “How do I become a junior driver with you?” Vesti asked.

Vesti said he had a vision of becoming a Mercedes junior and believed the programme could take him to Formula 1. He described his approach as a very different way to enter a junior programme, and said getting signed was not easy.

He went on to finish runner-up in the 2023 Formula 2 championship and became a Mercedes reserve driver from 2024. Now the team’s third driver, he supports Mercedes at each race weekend; the role has also seen him take part in FP1 sessions and simulator work.

Vesti described the third-driver job as unforgiving: he is helping others become champions without racing himself. He says he still feels there is a Formula 1 seat for him and wants to win races and fight for championships.