Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Test & Reserve driver

  • Ryo Hirakawa joins Alpine as reserve

    Alpine have announced that Japanese racer, Ryo Hirakawa will be added to the team’s test and reserve driver pool for the 2025 season, joining confirmed Paul Aron.

    Hirakawa will bring wide-ranging motorsport experience to Alpine, having competed in various single-seater and endurance championships, as well as testing Formula 1 machinery with McLaren and Haas.

    Not only this, he also claimed overall victory at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2022 and is a two-time Hypercar champion in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2022 and 2023!

    The Japanese drivers role at Alpine will involve him participating in the team’s Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) programme and supporting with car development and technical understanding via their simulator.
    After a maiden practice run with McLaren in Abu Dhabi last year, and an appearance at the post-season test with Haas, the 30 year old will also get an FP1 outing on his home soil at the Japanese Grand Prix in April.

    It is an honour to be joining BWT Alpine Formula One Team as a Test and Reserve Driver for the 2025 season. As always, the opportunity of track time in Formula 1 machinery is the pinnacle for race drivers and I am excited to drive in Free Practice 1 in front of my home crowd at the Japanese Grand Prix, as well as working with the team testing previous cars. It is a great opportunity to be working with such a dedicated team that utilises the breadth of experience of its driver pool and I look forward to playing a part in making 2025 a positive year together.
    Hirakawa on the news.

    It is great to bring Ryo on board with the team for 2025 and have him step in to take over driving duties for FP1 in Japan in front of his home crowd. His addition brings a diverse range of racing experience to our current roster and expands the pool of talent available to call upon throughout the season.
    Oliver Oakes, Team Principal added.

  • Andretti sign Jak Crawford as Reserve

    Andretti have announced that Jak Crawford has joined the team as its official Reserve and Development Driver for Season 11 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

    Crawford joins Season 9 World Champion Jake Dennis and Formula E veteran Nico Mueller to complete Andretti’s lineup for Season 11.

    Crawford returns to the team after an impressive Formula E debut at the 2024 Berlin E-Prix Rookie Test where he demonstrated a strong understanding of the Andretti Porsche 99X Electric finishing the day second overall in classification.

    The American has quickly climbed the motorsport ranks from winning multiple karting championships to competing in Formula 2 with DAMS Lucas Oil and becoming part of the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One team’s Young Driver Development program this year.

    Building on his experience, Crawford will play an integral role in the team’s Gen3 Evo development through simulator development and setup testing at Andretti Formula E’s Banbury headquarters.

    I’m very excited to be the official Reserve and Development Driver for the Andretti Formula E team in Season 11. Growing up in America, Andretti is such a household name in motorsports so it’s a privilege to have the opportunity to be part of the team. I’m keen to learn as much about the car as possible from both Jake and Nico, and to play a role on the development side through simulator work. I’m looking forward to getting started and to hopefully have the chance to get more experience in the car.
    Crawford on the news.

    We are very pleased to announce that Jak is taking a more permanent role with the Andretti Formula E team as our Reserve and Development Driver. His debut with us at the Berlin Rookie Test was very impressive and he immediately showed strong pace. When the opportunity of a Reserve and Development Driver arose, Jak was immediately of interest. He has demonstrated a mature approach through his second season in Formula 2, and since his appearance with us, has already achieved a win and three additional podiums. We look forward to his contributions in helping improve the team’s performance though his active role driving the simulator.
    Team Principal, Roger Griffiths.

  • Vandoorne and DS PENSKE part ways

    DS PENSKE has announced that Stoffel Vandoorne, the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Champion, will be parting ways with the team at the end of Season 10.

    The team signed Vandoorne alongside double champion, Jean-Eric Vergne for Season 9 and the start of the Gen3 era in what was at the time hailed as something of a super line-up, counting three titles between the pair.

    While he hasn’t added to his haul of three race victories over the last two years, he did finish on the podium in Monaco earlier this year.
    He rounded out the current campaign with a pair of ninth place finishes in London last week.

    Vandoorne’s next destination is currently unclear, with speculation linking him to a move to NEOM McLaren – which was previously the HWA and Mercedes squad which Vandoorne raced for in Season 5 to 8.

    The other Stellantis-affiliated team, Maserati is a more likely destination, as both drivers have left the team this season.

    Outside of Formula E, Vandoorne currently drives for another Stellantis brand, Puegeot, in the World Endurance Championship and serves as a test and reserve driver for Aston Martin’s Formula One team.

    We are truly grateful to Stoffel for his commitment and the outstanding performances he has delivered for DS PENSKE. We wish him the very best in his future endeavors.
    Jay Penske, Team Principal of DS PENSKE.

    My journey with DS PENSKE has been an incredible experience. I am thankful to the team for their unwavering support and look forward to new challenges ahead.
    Vandoorne on leaving the team.

  • Lotterer & Beckmann in as Porsche’s Reserve Drivers

    Porsche motorsport legend, Andre Lotterer and David Beckmann will support TAG Heuer Porsche as its Test and Reserve Drivers for the 2023/24 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

    With Lotterer, Porsche celebrated a successful Formula E debut in November 2019, when he took second place with the Porsche 99X electric at the opening round in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

    After a season competing for the new Porsche customer team Avalanche Andretti, the three time Le Mans winner’s main priority in 2024 will be the FIA Endurance World Championship with the Porsche Penske Motorsport team.

    For Beckmann, Season 10 will be his second as a test and reserve driver for the Porsche works team in Formula E.

    He turned his first laps on the racetrack with the Porsche 99X Electric in Calafat, Spain in autumn 2022 and took part in the official Rookie Test in sprint 2023 as part of the Berlin E-Prix weekend.
    As a reserve driver for the Porsche customer team, Avalanche Andretti, he celebrated his Formula E race debut in June at the double-header in Jakarta.

    Next season, our team will benefit from André’s wealth of Formula E experience. With David, we also have a young driver that we know well. He can also support us with the skill and experience he gained with our Porsche 99X Electric.

    Florian Modlinger, TAG Heuer Porsche’s Director of Factory Motorsport.

    After 26 years in single-seater racing, I have decided to close this chapter of my career and concentrate on the challenge of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA World Endurance Championship with the Porsche 963. At the same time, I’m excited to continue supporting Porsche with my Formula E experience.

    Lotterer on the news.

    I’m looking forward to continuing my work with Porsche and supporting the team in this challenging and diverse racing series. It’s a great job. I can better familiarise myself with the Porsche 99X Electric and gain crucial experience for further career steps in Formula E.

    Beckmann on continuing with the team.

  • Ferrari confirm their F1 reserve & development drivers

    Ferrari have named a group of four F1 reserve and development drivers who will be providing support to full-time races, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz during the 2023 season.

    Former F1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi and 2021 F2 runner-up Robert Shwartzman who have both made several F1 test outings with Ferrari – will be sharing the role of reserve driver, whilst making the most of a new simulator.

    Giovinazzi has 62 F1 starts to his name, initially making two substitute appearances for Sauber in early 2017 before competing the full 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons alongside Kimi Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo.

    Shwartzman finished second to new McLaren F1 racer Oscar Piastri in F2, as well as making FP1 appearances for Ferrari in the United States and Abu Dhabi towards the end of the 2022 F1 season.

    Alongside them, GP3 and F2 race winner Antonio Fuoco and GT star Davide Rigon will act as development drivers, with Ferrari noting that the pair have proved their worth in terms of providing the engineers with precise and reliable feedback through their simulator duties.

    All four drivers will be taking on racing programmes in 2023 alongside their F1 roles, with Giovinazzi and Fuoco recently confirmed to be taking on the World Endurance Championship in the 499P Hypercar.

    Meanwhile, Shwartzman and Rigon will be racing the new 296 GT3; Shwartzman in the SRO GT World Challenge Europe and Rigon in the SRO series as well as WEC and the IMSA Endurance Cup.

  • TAG Heuer Porsche announce test & reserve drivers

    David Beckmann has joined the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team as its Test and Reserve driver for Season 9, whilst Simona de Silvestro also makes a return in the role.

    Beckmann contested the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2022 and was Test and Reserve Driver for Avalanche Andretti through Season 8, which will be using Porsche powertrains as a customer outfit in 2022/23.

    He will retain his role this season and Porsche’s factory Formula E squad can now also draw on his expertise.

    We’re delighted that David will be joining our TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team as a test and reserve driver. He has spent a considerable part of his young career in single-seaters and has also gained Formula E experience with Avalanche Andretti. We’re excited to benefit from his input and expertise.

    Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport.

    Beckmann’s colleague Simona de Silvestro joined Porsche in 2019 and will continue as a Test and Reserve driver in Season 9.

    Throughout her career, the Swiss driver has competed in numerous international racing series. After claiming her first single-seater successes in Europe, she then moved to the USA at the age of 18, where she ended up in the IndyCar Series via Formula BMW and Formula Toyota Atlantic.

    Simona de Silvestro has also contested Formula E, driving for Michael Andretti’s team in the 2015/2016 season. In 2014, she was part of Sauber’s Formula 1 team.

  • Vandoorne joins AM as test & reserve driver

    Aston Martin has announced that reigning Formula E World Champion, Stoffel Vandoorne will be joining the team as test and reserve driver for the 2023 season.

    The Silverstone based team, revealed that he will be sharing duties with Formula 2 Champion, Felipe Drugovich who joined the team’s driver development programme back in September – with Aston Martin saying that Vandoorne will undertake an intensive simulation and development programme at the team’s Silverstone factory.

    Vandoorne is a former GP2 winner and has made 41 Grand Prix starts – all for McLaren from 2016 to 2018. The Belgian driver has also been the Mercedes reserve driver since 2019, whilst also racing in Formula E – where he won the championship earlier this year.

    Vandoorne will be conducting his role with Aston Martin alongside his commitments in Formula E where he will be racing for the DS Penske team for the 2022/23 season.

    It is incredibly exciting to be stepping into a reserve-driver role in Formula 1 – and I’m delighted to be doing it with Aston Martin. I’ve watched with great interest how the team has developed and expanded operationally, and I know how incredibly determined it is to make progress in every area. Joining Fernando [Alonso], who I already know from my Formula 1 racing career, and Lance [Stroll], to help them develop and improve next year’s car will be a terrific job, and I’m really looking forward to the challenge – and reward – of working together with the whole organisation at Silverstone.

    Vandoorne on his new role.

    Stoffel has all the capabilities we need for this new and expanded role within the team: he is fast, analytical, hard-working and a fantastic team player, and will fit perfectly into our growing organisation, working alongside our other test driver, Felipe Drugovich. The whole team is hugely motivated for next year, and the appointment of Stoffel, alongside Fernando, Lance and Felipe, gives extra depth to our fantastic driver line-up. This will be a significant role for Stoffel, and we will be reliant on him to work hard with both our track and simulation and engineering teams to improve our performance for 2023 and beyond.

    Mike Krack, Aston Martin Team Principal.