Condemned to watch from the sidelines: Jak Crawford takes the wheel from Lance Stroll

At the most recent Formula 1 showdown in Barcelona, no fewer than seven regular drivers had to watch the first free practice session from outside the cockpit, including big names such as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton – whose Ferrari was driven by Dino Beganovic – and world champion Lando Norris, who handed the wheel over to Leonardo Fornaroli.

The Aston Martin team, on the other hand, opted to bench both its regular drivers, instead allowing young talent to gain Formula 1 experience at the upcoming race weekend in Spielberg: Jak Crawford will take part in the first free practice session in Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, having already kicked off the race weekend in Japan earlier this year in Fernando Alonso’s car.

This is the fourth time overall that the American, who has held the role of reserve driver at Aston Martin since the start of this year, has been allowed to take part in a first practice session for the Silverstone-based team. Last year, he was on track for the first practice session in both Mexico and at the season finale in Abu Dhabi. He got his first taste of an Aston Martin GP car two years ago at the Red Bull Ring, where he put his foot down in a test session with a retired GP car, the AMR22.

A very special practice session

The 21-year-old has already been behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car this week, having taken part in Pirelli’s tyre test in Barcelona. “It’s brilliant to get another chance to drive the AMR26 during a race weekend,” he says happily. “I know the Red Bull Ring very well and it’s something quite special to return to Spielberg after two years with this team, where I completed my first F1 test with Aston Martin.”

Crawford is well prepared, as he emphasises: “I’ve spent a lot of time in the simulator this season and most recently took part in the tyre test in Barcelona, and I’m looking forward to continuing the work on the track. Every opportunity to get into a Formula 1 cockpit is valuable, and I’ll be fully focused on providing the team with good feedback.”

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Mike Krack, Aston Martin’s Chief Trackside Officer, adds: “Jak continues to play an important role as our third driver, and this FP1 session is another valuable step for him and for us. He has been a key part of our simulator programme so far this season and has also done valuable work at the Pirelli tyre test. Austria offers us another opportunity to assess his progress during an official session whilst also gathering valuable data for the team.”