Frederik Vesti Motorsport's Coming Star
He gave him a run for his money. Ahead of the season finale at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi at the end of November 2023, the then 21-year-old Frederik Vesti needed 25 points to catch up with leading French driver Théo Pourchaire. Quite simply, it was set to be a thrilling weekend in the desert sands.
But the fact that it had come to this was due to a crash on the Monza circuit two months earlier. Despite starting in eighth position, the start was fantastic. In a matter of seconds, Frederik Vesti moved up to fifth place. But then something happened that just wasn't supposed to happen! On his way to fourth place, he tried to overtake Czech driver Roman Stanek from the inside. Vesti was flying. It looked like a repeat of Saturday's victory. But in an attempt to defend his position, Stanek pulled to the right of the track and pushed Vesti into the grass.
"It was relatively early in the day, so the grass was still damp. But it was enough for the wheels not to grip. The car skated across the track and I ended up slamming the rear end into the barrier. In less than a thousandth of a second, it was over. That was the end of that day's work," says Frederik Vesti. Although he is not entirely sure, he believes that there was indeed contact between the two drivers.
The Czech received a five-second time penalty for the incident. But for Frederik Vesti, the accident meant that he lost the chance to win important points for the World Championship. He was in a good position to get really close, as he had crossed the finish line first in the sprint race the day before and had 10 points in his account.
Unfortunately, his closest rival, Théo Pourchaire, had a very good race and moved 25 points ahead of Frederik Vesti. This meant that Vesti had to be at his very best in the season finale in Abu Dhabi if he was to win the 2023 World Championship title. At the same time, Pourchaire was not allowed to score any points at all.
It started fantastically. Superior in fact. He won the sprint race. And in the main race he got third place. Vesti was on top of the world. But unfortunately, even that wasn't enough, as Pourchaire was also able to add points to his account. Just 11 points separated Vesti from the overall victory.
"It was actually a bit bitter. Théo Pourchaire has only won one race in the whole of 2023. I won six! It was a few mistakes and a couple of accidents that meant I didn't make it to the top. It's not something you can always control. On the Monza circuit, it was an passing that went wrong. At first I thought it was okay. But the wet, greasy grass made me lose the rear wheels and that was it!"
It was a tough walk back to the pits, where mechanics, engineers and team management were waiting. The Prema team had just witnessed a huge disappointment. But it was also one of the greatest race weekends delivered by the young Danish driver, who some experts are calling the next Lewis Hamilton. In any case, he showed in the season finale that he is capable of racing in the absolute world class.
Used to cry when he lost
Losing first place wasn't exactly in Frederik Vesti's script. "But I came close. And I'm actually quite happy with the season. Even though it's in my nature to go for first place," he says and adds: "In fact, I hate losing. As a kid, I cried when I didn't win!"
But competing for the World Championship title has been in the cards since he first got into a go-kart at the age of 8. He was helped along the way by his father, who as a car dealer has provided both rubber and high octane since his first go-kart. From the start of his racing career, Frederik Vesti showed that he could give a little more than his competitors. It was all about getting into the corners a little sharper and steering perfectly out of them again. At the age of 11, he won the first Danish junior championship.
The go-kart was finally parked in the garage when he moved up to a new class, Formula Ford in Denmark, at the age of 14. This is the stepping stone into the world of motorsport. This is where you prove to both yourself and sponsors that you have what it takes.
Because motorsport is an expensive sport, the sponsors have been an important focal point since Frederik Vesti's teenage years. Today, even a go-kart is difficult to deal with financially. But when you show talent and want to compete with the best in the world, travel and accommodation costs alone add up. The better you are, the more expensive your career. The strongest teams, like the Prema team, also operate with the biggest budgets. From the lowest junior category, we are talking about starting costs for a driver of well over 350.000 pounds. And it only gets more expensive from there. It is very important for Vesti to be able to give something back to the people who have supported him financially.
Paying for everything himself
Especially in recent years, financial support through various sponsorships has been more than a necessity. Although he has now competed for the Formula 2 World Championship title with an impressive second place as his best result, it's not a sport that pays the bills. In fact, he has - via sponsors - paid for it all 'himself'.
"It's certainly not cheap to race at the top of Formula 2! I pay for my place in the team myself. And it's not possible without some very wealthy people who believe in me. We have a budget in the double-digit millions [red. Danish Crowns] that our partners have made available."
That's why it's also a big part of his work to pay his sponsors back through company events, lectures and meetings with company employees. It has also given him an idea of what he might do when he stops racing.
"I'm hugely fascinated by understanding why some businesses succeed. And why some don't. Maybe it's because I'm the son of a car dealer. Maybe it's because I've been out and about visiting different companies in search of new sponsors. Today, the big responsibility lies with my manager, Dorte Riis Madsen. But I absorb and learn when she introduces me to new companies and people," says Frederik Vesti and continues:
"But I really love being out and about and giving talks about my life, my mindset and my sport. Whether you are interested in motorsport or not, there are many facets that might inspire other young people to make the extra effort needed to succeed. That's why I often give talks at schools, where I try to motivate other young people to live their dreams."
Hard work
It may sound like a contradiction. But the work of a professional racing driver is hard. Of course, most people can imagine what it does to the body to slow a super-tuned race car from speeds of over 300 km per hour to almost nothing in order to round the next corner or chicane on a racetrack. This puts up to 5G of pressure on the body. On top of that, a racing driver needs to be able to handle an average heart rate of around 170 beats per minute. And at the same time be able to concentrate on the race, the track, the condition of the car and, not least, the other competitors.
Physically, it puts an extreme strain on the body. Especially the neck, chest and abdominal muscles are severely strained when braking from 300 km/h.
For most other top athletes, physical performance at this level is limited to a 10–12-minute run. For Frederik Vesti, he needs to maintain focus and strength for a 60-minute race.
Therefore, his daily routine consists of a mix of both physical and mental training.
"Maybe well-trained athletes could do it. But ordinary people would hardly be able to do a single lap in a modern racing car. And in order for me to achieve this, strength training, especially of the neck muscles, and cardio training are part of my daily routine. A typical day starts with physical training, after which I spend many hours in a simu-lator practicing the details of the track we'll be driving on next."
It's also something that has taken over his free time. Even on a day off, he works hard in the gym. "I also have my own super simulator at home in my flat in Oxford."
On top of the training, there are the race days themselves. 14 weekends throughout the year. In addition, there are various training sessions around Europe. And for Frederik Vesti, there are also trips with Formula 1 stars Lewis Hamilton and George Russell from the Mercedes team. He is affiliated with the team as a Junior Driver. This meant, among other things, that he was able to sit in George Russell's car for free practice at the Mexican Formula 1 Grand Prix in October 2023.
He got 24 laps. And although he finished three seconds behind Max Verstappen, the times show nothing in a test where teams test very different things. A month later in Abu Dhabi in the same free practice session, he finished third fastest of all. Regardless of the times on the board, he proved that he has a future in motorsport's premier class. And he might also feel a little impressed to be sharing a garage with Lewis Hamilton himself.
"But it's hard work. Between the training and the race weekends, there's all the traveling that takes time and effort. Last year I had more than 60 scheduled flights around the world."
The future
The 2023 season may not have ended exactly where Frederik Vesti had hoped. Namely on the top of the podium after the season finale in Abu Dhabi. But it was close. And now he is back in his training regime with his team Prema. At home in his Oxford flat. Meanwhile, both his team and manager are working to chart the course for the next step in his career.
"The 2024 window for Formula 1 was already closed before the New Year. And right now, there are no new drivers in F1 in 2024, the old ones are staying."
Yet it seems there is a small opening. This winter, Lewis Hamilton announced that he will switch from Mercedes to the Ferrari team at the end of the season. And in mid-February, news broke that Frederik Vesti has been promoted to reserve driver for Mercedes. He has even been given a seat in the 24-hour race Le Mans this summer.
One thing is for sure. The 22-year-old Dane has impressed with his journey from a small go-kart to motorsport's second-best class. And he's the best bet for the next Dane behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car.