George Russell threw Frederik Vesti's name into the mix for Cadillac's second seat in 2027, and the Danish reserve backed it up in Mexico — third-quickest in FP1, 0.074s behind teammate Kimi Antonelli. Russell made a point of giving Vesti a proper performance run after seven sessions of grunt work, calling it "the least we could do" for a driver who "deserves his chance."
The praise lands awkwardly for Colton Herta, who ran dead last in the same session, 3.2 seconds off the pace and nearly a full second behind Sergio Perez in 18th. Herta's struggling to scrape together superlicence points after a dismal F2 campaign, though he'll get another FP1 shot in Brazil to edge closer to eligibility.
Cadillac's locked in Perez for 2026; Valtteri Bottas' 2027 future hangs open. If Vesti gets the nod over Herta, it's a gut punch for the American narrative — the American team passing on the American driver for a Dane who's actually earned it.
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