With new Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire openly eyeing Japan’s Super Formula for 2024, F2 runner-up Frederik Vesti admits the door to F1 may be closed to him as well.
Like Alfa Romeo reserve Pourchaire, 21-year-old Vesti got a turn at the wheel of a Formula 1 car in Friday practice in Abu Dhabi - in the Mercedes.
He still has a shot at replacing struggling Williams rookie Logan Sargeant for 2024, and he thinks losing the title to Pourchaire but winning more races than the Frenchman means he has been able to shine in 2023.
"Of course the championship is the most important," Vesti told Ekstra Bladet newspaper in Abu Dhabi. "But the people who really matter also know very well what has happened this season.
"I was the most winning driver. And just everything else that has happened. It’s been a wild season," he added.
Vesti admitted that his fingers are crossed in terms of what happens next, admitting: "I don’t know what’s going on yet.
"I haven’t actually sat down properly with Dorte (Riis Madsen)," he added, referring to his manager.
"The goal, of course, is to be in and around Formula 1. And then we’ll have to see what can become of it. But with a season like this, and the faith I have in myself and everyone in my team behind me, we are clearly focusing on Formula 1 and not looking too far away from that.
"There is no doubt about that," Vesti said.
If Vesti - like Pourchaire - ends up missing out on a F1 race seat for next year, plenty of doors might open for 2025.
Pourchaire told Le Journal de Montreal: "There are around 15 drivers who are out of contract in F1 in 2025, so I will be right there to knock on the doors of all the teams.
"And with a Formula 2 title under my belt, that will help me a lot."