Article by Finley Ever
Even though practically every Formula 1 driver is able to race each Grand Prix, there will be the occasional injury, illness, or race ban. Unfortunate events like these for our drivers leads to new ones coming in. But they’ve been here all along, just waiting for something to happen so they can step in and fulfill their role. Let’s meet the Reserve Drivers of Formula 1.
The reserve driver role
This third driver for every team is always on standby at races, ready to hop in the car if circumstances prevent a full time driver from racing a Grand Prix. One such example would be Oliver Bearman stepping in for Carlos Sainz who was facing appendicitis for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, driving the whole race in his place.
As well as stepping in for that most important role, they also assist the teams in simulator driving, data analysis, and a few hours’ worth of actual driving for Free Practice 1 across a few Grand Prix weekends.
Frederik Vesti
Mercedes Reserve Driver
The 24-year-old Danish driver joined Mercedes’ junior driving program in 2021, and then went on to finish runner-up in the 2023 Formula 2 Championship. In 2024, both he and Valtteri Bottas shared the role of reserve driver for the team, then last year, he split his time between his reserve role position as well as actively racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship with Cadillac Whelen.
Now, in 2026, he is the full-time Reserve Driver, ready to step in for George Russell or new World Champion Kimi Antonelli if ever need be.
Antonio Giovinazzi
Ferrari Reserve Driver
Antonio is a 32-year-old racer hailing from Italy. You may be familiar with Giovinazzi, seeing as he raced for Audi before it became Audi, aka Alfa Romeo, between 2019 and 2021.
He acts as Reserve Driver for Ferrari while continuing to race in the World Endurance Championship with Ferrari AF Corse.
Leonardo Fornaroli & Pato O’Ward
McLaren Reserve Drivers
Pato O’Ward (pictured left) is a Mexican racer who competes full-time in IndyCar for Arrow McLaren, accumulating multiple race wins and podiums. The 27-year-old is also a two-time runner-up in the Indianapolis 500 in both 2022 and 2024. He is both a Reserve Driver with McLaren as well as a test driver for the team!
Leonardo Fornaroli (pictured right) is a 21-year-old driver hailing from Piacenza, Italy. He won the Formula 3 championship in 2024, and then the F2 championship the following year, which got him signed with McLaren’s Driver Development Program shortly after.
Yuki Tsunoda
Red Bull & Racing Bulls Reserve Driver
You know him, you love him, it’s Yuki Tsunoda! After the 2025 season only rewarded him 33 points with Red Bull, he was replaced at the Austrian team with Isack Hadjar, making him the reserve driver for both Red Bull and sister team, Racing Bulls alongside Ayumu Iwasa (scroll further for more info on him!).
He stepped in to replace Isack Hadjar for three Grand Prix while he recovered from a wrist injury earlier this year!
Luke Browning
Williams Reserve Driver
After an impressive debut season in F2 in 2025, where the Brit claimed a victory, Williams announced him as their reserve driver ahead of the 2026 season.
Luke competes in Super Formula for Realize Kondo Racing this year as well!
Ayumu Iwasa
Racing Bulls Reserve Driver
Alongside Yuki Tusnoda, the Japanese racer Ayumu Isawa acts as Reserve Driver for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls for 2026.
After two seasons in Formula 2, Isawa went on to win the Super Formula Championship last year in Suzuka, and he continues to race in Super Formula as well as act as reserve this year.
Jak Crawford & Stoffel Vandoorne
Aston Martin Reserve Drivers
The American Jak Crawford (pictured left) lost out on the F2 Championship last year, but his talent was recognized and Aston Martin offered him a Reserve role for this year! His debut performance in FP1 was the Mexico City Grand Prix last year as well as post season testing where he absolutely crushed it!
Stoffel knows his way around a Formula 1 seat! In 2016 as a Reserve, he replaced Fernando Alonso at McLaren for the Bahrain Grand Prix, where he scored points! This led to him getting two seasons with a full seat at McLaren, but then he was demoted back to Reserve after that time. He won the Formula E Championship in 2021 and 2022, but all the while serving as Reserve Driver for various teams, but he has solely been Aston Martin’s Reserve since 2023.
Jack Doohan & Ryo Hirakawa
Haas Reserve Drivers
After making his F1 debut last year with Alpine, only to be dropped after 6 rounds by Argentinian Franco Colapinto, Aussie Jack Doohan (pictured left) left the pink and blue team to join forces with Haas as their Reserve Driver. While still in the role he was previously demoted to at Alpine, it certainly seems like a better work environment for Jack from an outsider looking in.
The 32-year-old Hirakawa has been in the racing spotlight for years. Having been successful at both 24 hours of Le Mans and WEC, Ryo was just the experienced driver that Haas was looking to sign to their team. And this year, with Esteban Ocon’s sudden departure from the US team ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix, Hirakawa filled his shoes and scored points in the process when he finished 10th in the race!
Freddie Slater
Audi Reserve Driver
Slater, 18, just only recently qualified for his F1 super license, making him now eligible to replace Nico or Gabriel for any race if need be! Before that, he finished second in the F3 championship in 2025 as well as being a part of Audi’s driver development program.
Paul Aron & Kush Maini
Alpine Reserve Drivers
Alpine has had a long history of many reserve drivers, but for the 2026 season, they thinned it out to two when Doohan and Hirakawa made the switch to Haas!
After a few years in Mercedes’ Junior Team, the Estonian Paul Aron (pictured left) signed with Alpine in 2024, and Kush Maini (pictured right) was a part of Alpine academy before signing on to become a reserve and test driver for the team in 2025. He’s also racing his fourth year in F2 while fulfilling this role at Alpine.
Zhou Guanyu
Cadillac Reserve Driver
Zhou is no stranger to F1, being a former Sauber driver and accumulating a total of 16 points across three seasons in a full-time seat. He left Sauber in 2024 after scoring their only points the previous year to join Ferrari as their Reserve Driver, and now Guanyu is back to being teammates with Valtteri Bottas at the new American team, Cadillac!
Reserve drivers play such a crucial role in this sport, and we can only hope to see them in a full-time seat of their own someday!
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