Crawford joins the green machine! Aston Martin names rising star as 2026 reserve driver

 

Jak Crawford, an American racing driver and current Formula Two (F2) competitor, affiliated with the Red Bull Junior Team. Has been announced as Aston Martin Aramco Formula One (F1) team’s third driver for the 2026 season supporting race operations and simulators development. With the Aston Martin F1 Team, headquarted at the AMR technology campus in Silverstone, UK and competing globally in the F1 World Championship.

Strengthening the team’s driver development pipeline and provide Crawford with F1 level experience, including simulator work, testing opportunities in addition to race weekend integration, potentially paving the way for a future race seat.

Jak Crawford, younger driver, said: “Over the past two seasons, I’ve learned so much from being in the Formula One environment, both at the AMR Technology Campus and track side.”

The 20 year old, who joined the team’s Young Driver Development Programme in 2024 has accumulated more than 2,000km in F1 machinery.

More recently, he made his Grand Prix weekend debut at the Mexico City Grand Prix driving Lance Stroll’s AMR25 during Free Practice One.

Andy Cowell, CEO and Team Principal at Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, said: “It is great to see Jak progress to become our Third Driver for 2026. Over the past two years, he has shown his value as a key member of our driver squad and built up a valuable bank of experience plus test mileage.”

Throughout 2025, Crawford has been a constant presence in the simulator at the AMR Technology Campus providing valuable technical feedback that has supported both race operations with the AMR25 and development work on the 2026 challenger.

📸 Imagery courtesy of Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team