Frederik Vesti has been named as the successor to Valtteri Bottas in the reserve role. The Dane has been part of Mercedes’ junior structure for several years as a development driver and has now earned a promotion. Should Russell or Antonelli be unavailable, Vesti would step in, although he has yet to make a Grand Prix start. In recent seasons, however, he has built valuable experience in endurance racing.

Mercedes has also confirmed a number of development drivers, including Anthony Davidson, with the Sky Sports analyst continuing in a role he has held for several years.

The other name on the list is Joshua Duerksen. The young driver will race for the highly rated Invicta Racing team in Formula 2 next season. Hailing from Paraguay — far from a traditional motorsport powerhouse — Duerksen is already something of a national hero back home.

That profile is set to grow further, with Mercedes planning to run him in tests of older Formula 1 machinery as part of his development programme.

Mercedes had earlier announced Doriane Pin as a development driver. She competed in F1 Academy last season, and GPblog previously reported that she is also set to test an F1 car.