Vesti impresses in Mexico FP1 as Mercedes reserve pushes for Cadillac 2027 seat

Mercedes reserve driver Fred Vesti posted a strong performance in Mexico FP1, finishing third and lapping just 0.111s slower than world champion Kimi Antonelli. Deputy team principal Bradley Lord described it as the most impressive of Vesti's seven F1 practice outings so far.

Vesti is one of several candidates, alongside Colton Herta, Valtteri Bottas and Yuki Tsunoda, linked with Sergio Perez's 2027 team-mate seat at Cadillac. He said he has his eyes on the seat and believes he would be very good in the car. George Russell gave up his car for the session, and praised Vesti's work with the team, saying he deserves a chance.

Vesti set his headline time on soft tyres, finding a 1.1s improvement over his best hard-tyre lap. He said there was still more lap time to find with further runs.