Mercedes driver George Russell has named Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti as a surprise contender to secure a Formula 1 seat with Cadillac for the 2027 campaign. Cadillac has yet to confirm a teammate for Sergio Perez, who signed a contract extension on Wednesday, leaving several potential candidates in the mix.
Driver Contenders for the Cadillac Seat
Other potential options for the American outfit include Cadillac test driver Colton Herta, despite his current lack of a superlicence and a challenging Formula 2 season, as well as outgoing Haas driver Esteban Ocon. However, Motorsport.com understands that Ocon is on track to become Aston Martin’s reserve driver, while Vesti is still pursuing his official Formula 1 debut after finishing as runner-up in the 2023 F2 standings.
The 24-year-old Vesti has balanced Hypercar duties for Cadillac with his responsibilities at Mercedes, where he has completed seven first practice (FP1) sessions. His latest appearance came on Friday in Mexico, where he took over George Russell’s car. Vesti finished the session in third place, just 0.074 seconds behind teammate Kimi Antonelli and 0.733 seconds off the pace of Ferrari leader Charles Leclerc, following a late soft-tyre run after completing extensive long-run programmes.
Praising his performance, Russell told Motorsport.com that Vesti executed a strong session and argued that he deserves an opportunity in the sport. Russell noted that Vesti has invested significant effort into working with the Mercedes squad and earned high respect within the team, having previously handled heavy development workloads without receiving performance runs. Russell added that he personally advocated for the team to give Vesti a chance to showcase his capabilities in Mexico.
Colton Herta’s Cadillac Prospects
Vesti expressed that he was extremely happy with his FP1 outing, which contrasted with the experience of Colton Herta. Stepping in for Valtteri Bottas, Herta finished at the bottom of the timesheet, 3.237 seconds off the pace and 0.970 seconds behind 18th-placed Perez. Despite the difficult session, discussions regarding Herta taking the Cadillac seat are growing, as he is expected to secure his superlicence by participating in FP1 during the upcoming weekend in Brazil.
Herta stated that his goal is to reach Formula 1 as soon as possible and perform at his best whenever he gets behind the wheel. He acknowledged that many discussions are taking place outside of his control and that he is focused entirely on delivering strong performances on the track.
