Who are the F1 Reserve Drivers?

Before we get started - check out the full F1 2025 schedule and how the F1 weekend works prior to the Grand Prix! Don’t forget to make sure you know how a full length Formula 1 race works too!

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What is an F1 Reserve Driver?

You cannot be an F1 Team, let alone a sports team with out backup players. What if someone is injured? Or sick? Or needs their appendix removed (I'm looking at you Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz)?

That is exactly what the main purpose of an F1 Reserve Driver is. They step into the car on a race weekend when one of the primary drivers cannot drive.

There are many different ways that someone can become a reserve driver and the reason those drivers may choose to accept the role, so let's run through the two most common scenarios:

1. A younger driver who is signed to the F1 Team's Driver Development Program and is using this role to strengthen future
   F1 Seat Prospects.
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2. An older driver who did not secure a seat for the season, but their experience and fanbase serves as a HUGE strength to the F1 Team.

That said there are many roles that F1 Reserve Drivers serve throughout weekends. Not to mention that some teams have MANY reserve drivers who fulfill different roles!

Reserve drivers can influence development of the car, serve as the face of promotional and marketing materials, lead testing, and, of course, step in when needed. MANY of the drivers on our grid right now were actually F1 Reserve Drivers!

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Who are some former Reserve Drivers on the 2025 F1 Grid?

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It's actually very common that reserve drivers earn a full time drive in Formula 1. This obviously applies to the dramatically changed 2025 grid, but other drivers including Oscar Piastri, George Russell, and Daniel Ricciardo have served as Reserve Drivers before their full time drives.

This is especially true of the 2024 F1 Season:

• Logan Sargeant was replaced by Williams Reserve Driver, Franco Colapinto mid-season. Franco is now the 2025 Alpine Reserve Driver.
• Daniel Ricciardo was replaced by Red Bull/ VCARB Reserve Driver, Liam Lawson. Liam Lawson is now a 2025 Red Bull Racing Driver.
• Oliver Bearman stepped into the Ferrari once to replace Carlos Sainz (sick) and the Haas twice to replace sick drivers. He is now a 2025 Haas Driver.

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Who are the 2025 Reserve Drivers?

McLaren Reserve Drivers

Pato O'Ward

Pato is a star of the IndyCar grid - racing for Arrow McLaren. He has served as the McLaren F1Reserve Driver since 2022, although has never had to step in to race. He has tested the car and driven during Free Practice Sessions throughout the years.

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Ferrari Reserve Drivers

Zhou Guanyu

Following his loss of his seat with Stake F1 Team, Zhou was announced as a reserve driver for Ferrari. He spent 4 years with the Ferrari Driver Academy form 2015-2018 before his 2022 F1 Debut. He likely brings sponsorship dollars as well as recent F1 experience to the Ferrari team.

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Antonio Giovinazzi

Antonio was part of the Sauber (Alfa Romeo F1 Team) from 2019-2021 but has worked with Ferrari since 2017. He races full time in the World Endurance Championship for the #51 Ferrari Team.

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Red Bull Reserve Driver

Yuki Tsunoda

Yes, Yuki is a full time driver on the F1 Grid for the VCARB (Visa CashApp RB) Team! However, Red Bull and VCARB are sister teams and pull talent from the same pool of drivers. As the 'support' team of sorts to Red Bull Racing, VCARB drivers are often 'called up' for roles in Red Bull.

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Mercedes Reserve Drivers

Valterri Bottas

Valterri is a legend of the Mercedes F1 Team - having won 10 Grand Prix's and raced alongside Lewis Hamilton from 2017 - 2021. Valterri raced for Stake, when he was dropped along with Zhou Guanyu. Luckily, Valterri has been welcomed back into the Mercedes ranks to support the team. He will likely serve as a HUGE marketing tool for the team, as well as providing a wealth of knowledge from his F1 experience (and experience with the team in the past).

Frederick Vesti

Vesti was the runner up in the F2 Championship in 2023. He has been a member of the Mercedes Driver Academy for years and served as a reserve driver during the 2024 season, as well. Vesti races full time in IMSA in 2025 for Cadillac!

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Aston Martin Reserve Driver

Felipe Drugovich

Drugovich graduated from the Aston Martin driver development program in 2022 when he was crowned as the F2 Champion. He has served as the Aston Martin Reserve Driver since 2023 and will continue his duties. Drugovich often competes in Sports Car series including his recent drive at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Stoffel Vandoorne

Stoffel was a Formula 1 Driver from 2016 - 2018 with McLaren. After little success, he moved into Formula E and SportsCar racing. He has served as the Aston Martin Reserve for the past 2 seasons and will likely continue his role alongside his Formula E drive.

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Alpine Reserve Drivers

Franco Colapinto

Franco will be joining Alpine as their primary reserve driver after serving as Williams Reserve and then finishing out the 2024 season after replacing Logan Sargeant. He proved that he was a VERY talented driver, but could not find a full time F1 drive for 2025. He will likely be a MASSIVE marketing asset for Alpine and bring in sponsorship dollars (proven by his short stint with Williams).

Ryo Hirakawa

Alpine announced that Hirakawa joined the team as a testing and reserve driver - specifically citing that he will participate in FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix. Hirakawa also served as a member of the McLaren Reserve Driver Program and is extremely successful in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).

Paul Aron

Paul Aron - previously a member of the Mercedes Driver Academy Program - finished the 2024 F2 Season in 3rd place before being announced as the Reserve Driver for Alpine. It was assumed that he would be the primary reserve driver, but the team later announced Franco Colapinto.

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Haas Reserve Driver

Pietro Fittipaldi

Although the Haas Reserve Driver is yet to be confirmed, Pietro Fittipaldi has served as one of the team reserves since 2019 - stepping into the car in 2020 when Romain Grosjean had his famous crash. Pietro is racing full-time in IMSA this season.

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VCARB Reserve Driver

Ayumu Iwasa

Ayumu has been a very successful driver in the lower formulae (F4, F3, F2) and a member of the Red Bull Junior Team for years. In the past, he has stepped in for various testing duties and a couple of Free Practice Sessions.

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Stake Reserve Driver

NONE ANNOUNCED YET. (Feb, 2025)

Last year's reserve drivers were Theo Pourchaire and Zane Maloney.

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Williams Reserve Driver

NONE ANNOUNCED YET. (Feb, 2025)

Last year's reserve driver was Franco Colapinto who replaced Logan Sargeant mid-season.

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Sharing Reserve Drivers

The one intricacy of the reserve drivers in Formula 1 is that often times teams will share. There are multiple teams that either have technical partnerships or some other understanding that the reserve and testing drivers that they have signed can be used when another team is in need. Here are some examples:

• Ferrari and Haas
  • Ollie Bearman is a perfect example of a reserve who stepped in for both teams
• Mercedes and Williams
• Red Bull and VCARB

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If you’re curious about other aspects of Formula 1, check out our other informative articles:

How an F1 Weekend Works

How Does an F1 Grand Prix Work?

How Does Qualifying Work in Formula 1?