May 5 (GMM) Frederik Vesti has revealed the extent to which he was caught in the middle of escalating conflict in the Middle East when his planned Formula 1 test was abruptly cancelled.
The Mercedes reserve driver was due to take part in a Pirelli test in Bahrain just prior to the season – his first proper run in the 2026 car – before the outbreak of war forced Formula 1 to shut down operations in the region.
“At 8 in the morning in the hotel gym, I saw the news about the American-Israeli attack on TV,” Vesti told Ekstra Bladet.
“I thought it was a bit violent. And okay, we were right next to it.”
“But none of us expected that it would suddenly rain drones and missiles in the nearby countries.”
The situation escalated rapidly once he arrived at the circuit.
“He had just reached the circuit when they first heard the sirens,” the report said.
“In the garage, the team had stopped work. When we opened the phone, we could see that the first targets had been hit in Bahrain,” Vesti explained.
“We knew that it was more serious than anyone had feared. We then drove back to the hotel and stayed there for five days.”
The journey out of the region proved even more dramatic.
“We sat and waited for three hours on the bridge, which was then hit by a drone two hours later,” he said.
“They closed the airspace because of that drone, and we had to sleep on the floor of the airport for ten hours before we could fly on the next morning.”
Vesti eventually returned to Europe via Saudi Arabia and Cairo.
The cancellation denied him a key opportunity to drive the Mercedes W17 for the first time outside the simulator.
“It would have been great to have driven the new car for a few days before then, but it didn’t work out this time,” he said.
The Dane is now hoping for another chance later in the season.
“There should be a first practice session very soon,” the 24-year-old said. “I haven’t received any confirmation yet, but probably within a couple of months.”
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