Mercedes driver to take Sebastian Vettel's Aston Martin seat at 2022 F1 Italian GP's FP1

Mercedes Formula E champion Nyck de Vries is to take part in the first practice session of the 2022 Italian GP with Aston Martin. The Dutchman will drive Sebastian Vettel's car on Friday, marking his third FP1 session this year.

De Vries partook in FP1 for Williams in place of Alex Albon at the 2022 Spanish GP, before taking Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes for a spin around Paul Ricard. As per 2022 regulations, each team is mandated to allocate two practice sessions to a driver who has not competed in two Grands Prix.

As reported by Formula1.com, the 27-year-old said:

"I am really looking forward to driving for AMF1, particularly at such a legendary circuit as Monza. It will be my third FP1 session of the season, and in the third different Formula 1 chassis, and these opportunities have given me a fantastic insight into how Formula 1 cars and teams function and operate."

While he hasn't yet competed in F1, the young driver is the 2020-21 Formula E world champion and is also the 2019 F2 champion.

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Mercedes is not completely sure of 2023 car development, claims Toto Wolff

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff believes the inconsistent performance curve of their car is hampering the development of their 2023 car. The Austrian believes they are uncertain of their car design platform when it comes to developing next season’s car.

In a Sportskeeda exclusive, the Austrian exec was asked if contrasting performances on weekends like Spa and Zaandvoort were affecting the development of the 2023 car. Wolff promptly agreed, saying:

“So we are in September now, we aren't completely sure where this is going for next year and it is obviously very much easier if you are Red Bull, as you say. Their car is the benchmark at the moment and they continue to develop and even if the returns are diminishing for their project, it's still at least the right slope and this is something that we are not quite yet 100% sure.”

The Mercedes boss' uncertainty about next year's concept is perhaps the biggest thing on the entire team's mind. Lewis Hamilton has confirmed in the past that the focus of the team has shifted to their 2023 concept.