Vesti Reveals He Stopped Toto Wolff on a Red Carpet to Land Mercedes Junior Deal

'It wasn't easy' – Vesti on the unusual way he became a Mercedes Junior driver

Fred Vesti has revealed that his route into the Mercedes Junior Programme began not in a paddock or a team briefing room, but on a red carpet at a party in Germany, where he stopped team principal Toto Wolff and asked him outright how to get a contract.

The Dane, now Mercedes' Third Driver, was competing in his second season of Formula 3 in 2021 when he was signed as a Mercedes Junior. He explained on the latest episode of the official podcast F1 Beyond The Grid that his approach was anything but conventional.

"I had followed Toto in Germany in Hockenheim," Vesti said. "I knew he was coming to a party. I was almost like a journalist at the red carpet.

"I stopped him at the red carpet and I asked him, 'How do I become a junior driver with you?' That was how I started the conversation with Mercedes. I just had this vision of being a Mercedes Junior and it could take me all the way to Formula 1, so yeah, it was a very different way of approaching a junior programme.

"I think he respects that a lot and I think he respects passion massively, and if he can see that you are motivated beyond anything he has seen before, I think that's where you make the difference. It wasn't easy getting signed by Mercedes at this point."

Why Mercedes' small junior pool appealed

Vesti admitted that the exclusivity of the Mercedes programme was part of its attraction, pointing to the small number of drivers already on the books at the time.

"One of the reasons why I really liked the Mercedes Junior Programme was actually because they only had a few drivers," he said. "They had George [Russell] and a couple of other drivers and that was it. So to be a Mercedes Junior driver is something very few people get to do."

Since joining the squad, Vesti went on to finish as runner-up in the 2023 Formula 2 championship, and has served as a reserve driver from 2024 onwards. The role has seen him take part in FP1 sessions for the team as well as completing extensive simulator work.

Balancing two very different driving styles in the sim

That reserve role has placed Vesti at the centre of Mercedes' preparation for both race drivers, and he conceded that his job in the simulator is to serve two masters rather than commit to one set-up philosophy.

"For me as the third driver in the sim, I sort of have to do both," he said. "I have to balance both drivers because we are equally using their data. I think Kimi, one thing that he does quite a lot is he sends in a lot of speed into the corner, which, with this car, it seems to work really well. George in some ways backs it up a bit more, focusses on the exit, but it's not as simple as this because it changes weekend to weekend, corner to corner."

'That dream is still very much alive'

Despite his focus on supporting Mercedes' race drivers each weekend, the 24-year-old is still pursuing a race seat of his own — and he believes the team now views him as a Formula 1 driver rather than a junior.

"It's a very unforgiving job as third driver," he explained. "You are helping making champions but it's not yourself. Obviously, I've had my own dreams of racing in Formula 1 since I was a kid and that dream is still very much alive. The team sees me as a Formula 1 driver.

"Sometimes they say, 'Fred you're not a rookie, you have done so much testing, you are so prepared for a Formula 1 seat', so I'm living and breathing like a Formula 1 driver. That's the trust I have from the engineers first of all.

"They need a lot of trust in the driver that they lean on if that [stepping in for Russell or Antonelli] would happen, and it's taken me some good time, some years to become the driver I am today and to be ready for that scenario."

Vesti added that working alongside Mercedes' engineers and drivers has accelerated his own development, and made clear where his ambitions lie.

"I'm working with the best engineers, the best drivers in the world and I'm really improving rapidly as a driver towards Formula 1. My dream is to be on the grid, winning races, fighting for championships in Formula 1 and that's what I wake up thinking about every morning.

"I'm working so hard for it. I have this feeling so deep in my heart that there is a seat for me, and I am so hungry and ready to do anything to achieve that goal. The goal is a Formula 1 seat and I can feel it's coming."

The full episode of F1 Beyond The Grid, sponsored by Salesforce, is available via the audio player on F1's official site and all major podcasting platforms, with the video version also published on the F1 YouTube channel. The podcast library spans previous episodes covering every decade of Formula 1.