A pair of 18-year-old British prospects and the Ferrari reserve who ran Carlos Sainz close are among the sport’s rising stars
Frederik Vesti, Mercedes
The 21-year-old Dane is second in the F2 championship that will be decided in Abu Dhabi. In his second season in the series he trails Théo Pourchaire by 16 points with 39 still on the table after a strong season during which he has won six races, including a superb victory in the sprint race on Saturday . Vesti was signed to the Mercedes junior programme in 2021 and concluded a full young driver test for them in Abu Dhabi in 2022. He made his debut on a full grand prix weekend at Mexico this season when he completed the low-speed run over 26 laps and finished 19th, which the team principal, Toto Wolff, admitted was not the ideal chance to assess the youngster’s talents. On Friday, he had a better shot, took over Lewis Hamilton’s car and stayed within seven-tenths of George Russell.