Mercedes’ reserve driver Frederik Vesti is also a contender for the potentially vacant cockpit at Cadillac, should the team opt to part with Valtteri Bottas, PlanetF1.com has learned.

The Finnish driver’s position at Cadillac is more tenuous than it had appeared earlier in the season, and a new contender in Frederik Vesti has emerged during the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.

Frederik Vesti joins Colton Herta on Cadillac’s shortlist to replace Valtteri Bottas

With Cadillac not hiding its interest in evaluating American driver Colton Herta for the seat, should Bottas be unable to convince the team’s top brass that he is the right man to stay on alongside Sergio Perez next year, another contender has emerged.

Mercedes’ reserve, Danish driver Frederik Vesti, is also on the shortlist for the team’s potential vacancy, PlanetF1.com understands, with Vesti having raced with Whelen Cadillac Racing in IMSA over the past two seasons. He has scored three wins with the team, as well as three other podium finishes.

Vesti replaced George Russell in the Mercedes W17 for FP1 in Mexico City, placing third, which is a stand-out performance for a non-race driver in practice in the modern era: Felipe Drugovich’s P2 in FP1 in Abu Dhabi ’23 being the record, while Alex Dunne’s P4 in Austria in 2025 was another eye-catching performance.

Vesti’s existing connection with the manufacturer is understood to be playing in his favour, as is his technical feedback and ability to aid in the development of a car, as has been evidenced by his work on the Mercedes W17 this year.

Having qualified for his FIA Super Licence following his runner-up position in Formula 2 in 2023, Vesti remains qualified for the Super Licence by way of his FP1 appearances for Mercedes, with the regulations being that any driver “who has held a valid super licence for any of the previous three seasons is eligible for a new licence if they have completed 100 km in a free practice session in the last 3 years”.

However, Vesti is not thought to be the favourite to step in if Cadillac does opt against continuing with Bottas, with Herta understood to be the leading contender, due to his long-standing relationship with General Motors as well as Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss.

By taking part in FP1 in Mexico, Cadillac believes the American has now accomplished the 40 Super Licence points required in order to apply for his FIA Super Licence, which the American was ineligible for when Red Bull became interested in him three years ago.

Herta has previously raced for Andretti Global in IndyCar, becoming a multiple race winner, and his pursuit of an FIA Super Licence through a campaign in Formula 2 has been with support from Towriss, who spoke last year about his admiration for Herta stepping outside his comfort zone by leaving IndyCar.

“I’m confident Colton will get his shot [in F1], but he’s got to earn it, right?” Towriss said. “He’s taking that risk.

“I think people should really take note of and admire Colton for that bold move. He’s not entitled to the seat. He’s not guaranteed the seat from that standpoint. He’s going over to prove that he belongs in Formula 1.

“What I applaud most about him is his willingness to be uncomfortable. When you come to a fork in the road, the most comfortable thing he could have done was say, ‘I’m well paid, I’m going to stay in IndyCar and go try to achieve this next thing’, but he chose the unconventional path. He chose something that’s a very uncomfortable situation – there are a lot of new things that are going to come at him.

“He’s going to grow tremendously, and he’s got a big opportunity in front of him.”

While Herta’s F2 campaign has been underwhelming, at best, with the American driver occupying 19th in the standings and earning zero FIA Super Licence points, his marketability and ability shown during his F1 practice session appearances have enabled him to become a frontrunner to replace Bottas.

As it stands, Bottas is said to still be the preferred option within the F1 team, including from his teammate Sergio Perez, but General Motors is said to be in favour of giving Herta a chance.

If the team does split with Bottas, and Herta is not chosen, it’s understood Vesti is then the lead contender, with Mercedes lending its support to trying to help him secure the seat.

Another name understood to have engaged in exploratory talks with Cadillac is Dunne, with the F2 driver unlikely to continue in the series in 2027. However, the apparent preference within Cadillac for Herta is said to have resulted in these talks going nowhere, while another ostensibly free agent in Liam Lawson is said to be remaining focused on remaining with Red Bull.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after practice in Mexico, Cadillac team boss Marcin Budkowski was asked about Herta and the importance of having an American driver in his team’s ranks.

“Look, it is important. It’s an American team; it races under an American flag,” he said, while also conspicuously avoiding a question of whether Herta is ready to step into the car fully by instead choosing to highlight Sergio Perez’s performances.

“I think we’re building a strong American identity as well. It’s great to have an American driver. It increased the hype, you know.

“But it’s also a question of timing. The right driver when the team is ready for it. So we’re assessing this.

“The objective here this season was to have Colton as part of the team. He’s doing some simulator development for us. He’s done five FP1s now, one more than expected because in Monza, unfortunately, we had an issue on his car that prevented it from doing any meaningful running in Monza.

“We might do more FP1s with him to give him more experience. I think it’s part of the process we’re in.”