The Reserve Drivers of Formula 1

Who are they and why are they important?

Often referred to as ‘the forgotten men on Formula 1’, many fans do not realise how key reserve drivers are to the sport. Each team contracts in drivers that are ready and waiting to go whenever the team may need them if something was to happen to the main drivers. Some will get the opportunity to drive during the Sunday race, but others never get the chance to.

Many teams use the reserve driver role to try out new talent and to see how some of the younger drivers fare in the extremely fast and complex F1 cars. The reserve driver may take the car out during FP1, gaining experience with the hope of earning a full time seat in the team in the future. Drivers such as Norris, Ricciardo, Gasly, Giovinazzi, Latifi, Ocon and Alonso all started out as reserve drivers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proved just how vital the role is. The 2020 season saw three drivers testing positive during the season. As a result, Perez, Stroll and Hamilton were all unable to drive during the race weekends due to the mandatory isolation period. The teams needed to fill the seats quickly and this is where reserve drivers come into play. With the pandemic still a global issue, we should pay attention to this year’s reserve drivers. You can check them out below:

Mercedes: Vandoorne and de Vries

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team has contracted Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries as their substitutes for the 2021 season.

Vandoorne is a 29-year-old Belgian, whose career has included racing for McLaren in the 2017 and 2018 season, with titles in the GP2 Series, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and F4. He currently competes for Mercedes-EQ in Formula E and finished 2nd in the driver's championship last year.

de Vries also drives for the Mercedes E-Q Formula E Team. The 26-year-old Dutchman’s previous titles include F2, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Alps.

The drivers’ Formula E seats would make them unavailable during the Spanish, Monaco and Azerbaijan GP were the team to need them. As a result, Mercedes have Hulkenburg under contract as well. However, it would not be surprising if the team were to call up Williams’ George Russell if they need anyone, as they did for the 2020 Bahrain race.

Red Bull Racing: Albon

Fan favourite Alex Albon lost his seat at the team as the 2020 season came to a close. However Red Bull have kept him on as their reserve and simulator driver for 2021. The 25-year-old Thai-British driver was promoted from the Toro Rosso team (now AlphaTauri) to a Red Bull seat during the 2019 season. He finished 7th in the 2020 F1 season and now drives in DTM for AF Corse.

McLaren: Vandoorne and de Vries

Back in June 2020, McLaren struck a deal with the Mercedes team to share reserve drivers. This deal carried forward into the 2021 season, so we could see either Vandoorne or de Vries in the papaya car if Norris or Ricciardo need replacing for a weekend.

Aston Martin: Hulkenburg

Nico Hulkenburg is a seasoned F1 driver; he drove for Williams in 2010, Force India in 2012, Sauber in 2013 and returned to Force India between 2014 and 2016. He then drove for Renault for 2017, 2018 and 2019. The 33-year- old German has won titles in Formula BMW, A1 Grand Prix, Formula 3, GP2 and 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the driver was a super-sub for Racing Point (now Aston Martin), replacing Perez at the British GP and Stroll for the Eifel GP at the last minute, as he happened to be staying near the track coincidentally.

Alpine: Kvyat

Daniil Kvyat has been driving in F1 since 2014; he started at Toro Rosso, then moved up to Red Bull for 2015-2016. The 27-year-old Russian driver then had a second spell at Toro Rosso, before being let go at the end of the 2017 season. For the 2018 season, Kvyat became the third driver for Ferrari, before moving back to Toro Rosso (which then became AlphaTauri) for both 2019 and 2020.

Despite having some incredible talent in F2, with drivers such as Guanyou Zhou and Christian Lundgaard, the team have decided they are not ready for the promotion to F1 reserve drivers just yet.

Ferrari: Giovinazzi

Ferrari is the only team to have contracted a driver who has a full-time seat elsewhere on the grid. The Alpha Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi started as a reserve driver for Sauber in 2017 and for Sauber and Ferrari in 2018. He then took a seat at the team, which was renamed Alfa Romeo, in 2019 where he has been ever since. The 27-year-old Italian’s previous titles include Masters of Formula 4 and Formula Pilota China.

AlphaTauri: Albon

As AlphaTauri is Red Bull Racing’s sister team, they both share Alex Albon as their reserve drive.

Alpha Romeo: Kubica and Ilott

Robert Kubica’s career has not been an easy one. The 36-year-old Polish driver started in F1 at BMW Sauber between 2006 and 2009. After moving to Renault for 2010 and 2011, he signed a contract with Ferrari for the 2012 season. Devastatingly, his contract was cancelled after a horrible rally crash. Whilst he drove in some minor rallies, he did not return until 2018 where he was announced as the reserve driver for Williams. He then took a seat at the team for the 2019 season. After leaving Williams, he has been competing in DTM. He is the first and only Polish driver to have ever competed in F1.

It was announced last week that Callum Ilott would be joining Alpha Romeo’s roster as a reserve driver. The 22-year-old British driver has been hailed as one of the most successful karting drivers of his generation. After working his way up through F3, GP2, GP3 and F2 (finishing 2nd to Mick Schumacher in 2020), he joined Ferrari as a test driver for 2021. This rising star is absolutely one to watch for the future.

Haas: Fittipaldi

Pietro Fittipaldi is the grandson of F1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi. The 24-year-old Brazilian has raced in the NASCAR Wheelen All-American Series, F3, Formula V8, IndyCar and DTM, before being confirmed as the 2019 test driver for Haas. In 2020, he stepped in to replace Grosjean for the final two races of the season, finishing 17th in both races. He has made a return to IndyCar this season, alongside his reserve driver duties, for oval races exclusively.

Williams: Aitken

Jack Aitken is a 25-year-old British-Korean driver, who started karting when he was 7 years old. His previous titles include Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Formula Renault 2.0 Alps and Pro Mazda Winterfest. Before Williams, Aitken served as the reserve driver for Renault in 2019, having been part of their young driver program since 2016. Aitken stepped in to replace Russell, who temporarily replaced Hamilton at Mercedes, for the 2020 Sakhir GP and finished 16th.

As you can see there is a huge amount of talent amongst the reserve drivers. From up-and-coming newbies to seasoned F1 pros, the reserve driver role is a fantastic one for either starting your career or as a way to stay in the sport. Coronavirus has continued to affect the 2021 season, so keep an eye out to see if any of these faces appear on the grid in the coming months!

Please note: this article was originally written for the Grid Girls Blog