Frederik Vesti’s 2023 Formula 2 campaign has had some brilliant highs. Having scored five wins and eight podiums across the year, the 21-year-old Mercedes junior has taken more victories than any other driver, including title rival Theo Pourchaire.
Following a first round in Bahrain he described as “horrible” that yielded no points, Vesti went on to win the second feature race of the season in Jeddah, a weekend that kickstarted a 12-race run of top-10 finishes. That ran until his involvement in a multiple car incident at Silverstone resulted in retirement, with three more wins including converting pole in the Monaco feature race – his highlight of the season.
But there have also been some torrid lows. Though the Dane remained in the championship lead following a second place in Hungary, it was Spa where things started to turn for Vesti. Difficult conditions saw the Prema driver crash out on the way to the grid, and what had been a six-point advantage in the championship standings ultimately led to ART Grand Prix rival Pourchaire departing the Ardennes with a 12-point cushion.
“Spa was just one of those things,” Vesti tells Autosport at Monza, the penultimate round of a 14-round calendar that was reduced to 13 by the cancellation of the Imola weekend. “If I went on a drag strip with a race car and tried to do it again, it wouldn't happen, you know, 1000 times. It was such a technical low-grip situation that was just very unfortunate.
“I was very frustrated, especially because Theo was scoring very well that race and Ollie [Bearman] was doing the best he could to win the race. Finally, it was Jack [Doohan] who won the race. But of course, I was watching everything and just feeling the missed opportunity that was. I think at that point, I was still in the championship lead by some points, but then lost it, which is extremely frustrating.”
It didn’t get better after the summer break. At Zandvoort, an abandoned sprint race was followed by a chaotic feature race in which all six title contenders hit trouble. Spinning upon the first safety car restart but recovering his race, Vesti was running in fifth when Pourchaire crashed out to prompt another safety car.
Seizing his chance for a cheap pitstop, Vesti dived into the garage behind team-mate Oliver Bearman for fresh tyres. But he soon encountered trouble as both his rear tyres parted company with his car, putting the Dane out too in a bizarre incident. The eventful race was ultimately won by Clement Novalak from 13th on the grid.
Source: Autosport