Four rounds now remain in the ongoing FIA Formula 2 season, where the potential exists for a title hunt between old teammates in a battle for the drivers’ championship. Speaking exclusively to Feeder Series, championship leader Frederik Vesti opened up regarding his campaign so far and the ensuing fight with ART’s Théo Pourchaire.

By Tyler Foster

Prema’s Vesti currently leads his French rival by just 11 points after round nine at the Hungaroring. In the previous season, the rivals experienced each other first-hand as teammates at ART Grand Prix, where Vesti debuted as a rookie in Formula 2. For 2023 however, the Dane departed the French team to reunite with Prema. 

As a Mercedes junior leading the Formula 2 standings, Vesti has placed himself in the best position to graduate to the pinnacle of motorsport. The 21-year-old told Feeder Series that this year is the culmination of all his hopes and dreams, and doesn’t want to leave anything on the table come the end of the season.

“I think this year I’ve just gone, ‘no regrets,’” Vesti said. “Like this is my year if I want to make it into Formula One. I think the way I look at it, if I know with myself that I’m all in and have nothing left in a tank, then there is no reason to feel pressure or feel that it’s a difficult situation. I’ve dreamed of this exact situation since I was eight years old. I’m far more grateful for being here with Prema, fighting for the Formula 2 championship, than I feel the pressure of not making it into F1.”

After spending his 2020 rookie Formula 3 season with Prema, Vesti has made it abundantly clear that his reunion with the Italian team and their personnel is extremely special to him. When asked what the biggest lesson was from his switch to Prema after two years with ART, the Mercedes junior touched on the importance of his current entourage.

“There’s no doubt. I think everyone can see it in my driving and the way I approach this championship. I think my main lesson or what I’m trying to emphasise this year is to use every person I have around me to the maximum. 

“In every way, they are here to support me, but if I don’t allow and open up to use every bit of everyone around me then I don’t get the maximum out of myself. I’ve managed to understand that using everyone to the maximum gives me my maximum performance.”

Specifically for Vesti, his relationship with race engineer Pedro Matos has been key to his development this season. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, Matos was not present for Prema at Silverstone, where the Danish driver faced a disastrous retirement in the feature race. However, in Hungary, Vesti responded with Matos back on his pit wall and extended his championship lead by seven points. 

“This is not a one-man show, and it cannot be, both on-track and off-track. It’s a team effort. I can’t do it on my own: it’s a mental coach, a performance coach, a driver coach, my manager, my dad, my engineer. There’s so many people involved in this and using them to the maximum is what has changed for me.”

As a rookie in Formula 2 last season, Vesti had a respectable campaign as Pourchaire’s ART teammate, finishing ninth – 47 points behind the Frenchman. Given his current performances, Vesti doesn’t rate his rookie year that highly. He views the present as a continuation of his developments from twelve months ago, rather than taking a massive jump in his overall ability.

“I think obviously if you look at the final result last year, it wasn’t amazing. But I did the pole, I did race win. [I was] there or there about over the summer, was really strong. Just never got the feature race win, I think we struggled a bit to put it together.

“So, I would say this year is a continued version of myself, but obviously improved and with a big emphasis on consistency.”

Speaking at Silverstone earlier in the calendar, Pourchaire told Feeder Series that he tries to work on “how each driver behaves on the track,” while stating that he is aware of Vesti’s style from his time as his teammate last year.

“I heard him say that also a couple of weeks ago,” Vesti said. “Of course, drivers are different, but I think it’s more how you approach a battle that is really important. That’s where my focus is at least, that will give me the best chance.”

Finally, the Danish driver doesn’t solely have the responsibility of fighting for a Formula 2 championship that could change his career. He has to attend to this while juggling his simulator duties as a Mercedes junior back at their Brackley base. While his F2 preparations take priority, he knows that he will be sacrificing a lot of time for the German F1 team in the near future to improve his prospects.

“Obviously, it started last year, I moved to the UK. I was very busy, up to almost 45 days in the simulator. This year has been equally as active with Mercedes. Still there in the UK when I’m not racing in Formula 2, mainly doing sim work. Also, in the gym. 

“It’s as much as it’s ever been, my involvement in the team. Of course, I know the better I do, the more opportunities I get. That also means that my main priority is Formula 2, and that has probably also made me this year say, ‘Ok, let’s relax a little bit on the sim days, focus on Formula 2,’ and when we get after Monza, I’m sure I will live in the simulator at Mercedes.”

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency