Lewis Hamilton ‘worst car we’ve built’ comment recalled by Vesti

Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti recalled the far from inspiring comment made to him by Lewis Hamilton ahead of his first time driving Mercedes F1 machinery.

Hamilton told Vesti that he was driving the “worst car” Mercedes had built but, returning to the cockpit at the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix, Vesti felt a very different story.

Lewis Hamilton ‘worst car’ comment revealed by Vesti

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Vesti joined the Mercedes junior programme in 2021. At the end of the 2022 campaign, he represented Mercedes in the Abu Dhabi young driver test.

His first experience of Mercedes’ F1 machinery came in the W13, the opening car designed by the team under the ground effect ruleset in 2022 which claimed just one grand prix win, courtesy of George Russell and brought an end to the squad’s streak of eight-straight titles.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton struggled to gel with the ground effect era in general, and made his feelings clear on the W13 to Vesti, just before the young Danish racer was about to debut.

Skip forward to F1 2026 and Mercedes’ current creation, the W17, started out hot in the new regulatory era. Kimi Antonelli, who Vesti replaced in Hungary for his latest rookie FP1 appearance, leads the Drivers’ Championship by 50 points from Hamilton, these days of Ferrari.

Mercedes comfortably leads the Constructors’ Championship.

“I’ve driven the ’22 car, and every car since. This car is different,” Vesti told Sky F1 of the Mercedes W17.

“I remember the first time I jumped into Lewis Hamilton’s car, and he looked at me five minutes before jumping in, and he was like, ‘Oh, you’re unlucky! You’re driving the worst car we’ve built,’ in ’22.

“We’ve only become better since then. And this year’s car, obviously leading the Constructors’ right now, I’ve worked on it for the last year and a bit, and it’s been an amazing journey.

“Then to finally drive it, I can really feel that it is special, and it does give confidence, especially in high speed. It’s a great car.”

Considering that Mercedes has returned to F1’s summit at this stage with the W17, it was put to Vesti that Antonelli, before Hungary FP1, must have told him good luck and don’t damage the car.

Vesti revealed that Antonelli was not the Mercedes figure saying such things.

“Kimi is pretty fair on that. Actually, he usually wants me to push and find the limit,” Vesti revealed.

“Toto [Wolff, team principal] has told me a few times, ‘Don’t crash the car.’ It’s not really good advice!”

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Vesti impressed during FP1 in Hungary and ended the session in seventh, his fastest lap just four tenths down on George Russell’s in the sister W17.

“I was really happy. It was around four tenths to George,” he said.

“It was my second soft tyre in seven months in a Formula 1 car, so I would call it half-blindfolded, jumping into these cars. Not much previous knowledge, but just go and have a go.

“It’s not easy, but I was really pleased with where I ended.”

Vesti noted the difficulty of the transition coming from the simulator, where “we have optimal grip all the time,” to driving the physical car in real-life track conditions.

“There are so many variables that are changing all the time, and it’s nailing all of those with the right timing.

“Adding this complicated PU as well, it makes it a big task for the drivers.”

Vesti confirmed that “some time after the summer break” he will be back in the W17.

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