Dutchman Nyck de Vries will replace the Englishman in the first part of the day on Friday
This is the first of two young driver sessions required by all teams this season.
The Mercedes team confirmed on Wednesday that the Dutch driver Nyck de Vries will get into the Englishman’s car Lewis Hamilton during the first free practice session of the French Grand Prix this weekend.
“This weekend, Nyck de Vries will take the wheel of the ‘W13’ for the first practice session. Lewis has chosen this weekend to complete the first of two young driver sessions required by all teams this season. George (Russell) selected one later this year,” Mercedes said on its official Twitter account.
Every team in the Formula 1 World Championship must allow young and less experienced pilots two free practice sessions at a Grand Prix during the season. Nyck De Vries, 27, was Formula 2 champion in 2019 and last year won the Formula E world title for Mercedes. He made his F1 debut earlier this season at the Spanish Grand Prix, taking the place of Thailand’s Alex Albon at Williams.
“Nyck will replace Lewis in the first practice this weekend, as part of the young driver sessions this year. Therefore, we can’t wait to see how it goes“, assured in a press release the ‘Team Principal’ of Mercedes, Toto Wolff.